Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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110. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his recent conversation with Chancellor Merkel. [1432/19]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I spoke by phone with Chancellor Merkel on Thursday 3 January.

The main focus of our discussion was Brexit, and the importance of the Withdrawal Agreement that was agreed between the EU and the UK last November being ratified.

We agreed that we would be ready to offer additional reassurances and clarifications to the UK, but that there could be no renegotiation or contradiction of the Withdrawal Agreement, including on the backstop.

We reiterated our wish to start negotiations on the future relationship as soon as possible after the UK's withdrawal, and for that relationship to be as close, comprehensive and ambitious as possible.

We also discussed our work on preparedness, including contingency planning for a no-deal scenario, recognising that the closer we get to 29 March without Ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement, the more urgent this work becomes.

We also spoke about my planned attendance at the CSU conference in Germany the following day.