Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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389. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the engagement he has had with the UK Government and European Commission regarding recent developments with the Ireland protocol. [13248/21]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I maintain ongoing contacts with British Government counterparts on matters of common interest, including the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland. Last month, I held a series of meetings in London with Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, Dominic Raab, and a joint meeting with the Secretary of State Lewis, and Minister of State at the Cabinet Office, Lord Frost.

Throughout these engagements, I have continued to make clear that our shared goal must be full implementation of the Protocol, which was negotiated between the UK and the EU to address the challenges caused by Brexit on the island of Ireland. It is the agreed way to safeguard the Good Friday Agreement, to avoid a hard border and protect the EU Single Market.

I am also in very close and regular contact with European counterparts, most particularly with Commission Vice President Maroš Šefcovic – the EU co-Chair of the Withdrawal Agreement Joint Committee and primary interlocutor for the Union with the UK on the implementation of the Protocol.

I welcome the technical level contacts between the EU and UK in recent weeks seeking to resolve the series of outstanding issues around implementation of the Protocol. The best and only place to deal with these issues are the structures established for that purpose - the Joint and Specialised Committees.

We have always been clear that we want the Protocol to work effectively for Northern Ireland, and we believe that it can help build prosperity for its people and businesses. Full access to both the UK internal market and the EU Single Market of 450 million people presents real opportunities for trade, for inward investment, and for jobs which would benefit all communities in Northern Ireland. Politicians and stakeholders from across these islands should be highlighting that and fully exploiting these opportunities.