Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 12 July 2017
188. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide an update on his responsibilities as they pertain to Brexit; if he expects these responsibilities to increase; the division of tasks as they relate to Brexit between the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33301/17]
View answerIn appointing me as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade with special responsibility for Brexit, the Taoiseach has asked me to coordinate the whole-of-Government approach to the EU-UK negotiations and to preparations for Brexit, with a view to securing the best possible outcome for Ireland. Coming shortly before the formal launch of the Article 50 negotiations between the EU and the UK on 19 June, my appointment to this role has coincided with an important period in the Brexit process.
My immediate focus has therefore been on discharging the Department’s lead role in ensuring a cross-Governmental approach to the Article 50 negotiations. I will be building on the excellent work carried out over recent months, which has ensured that Ireland’s interests – as set out in the Government’s comprehensive document of 2 May on our approach to the Brexit negotiations – have been fully reflected in the EU’s negotiating position. Protecting the gains of the peace process is a key priority for the Government in dealing with Brexit. This includes ensuring that all provisions of the Good Friday Agreement are fully respected and upheld, avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland and maintaining the Common Travel Area.
In order to ensure that these specific concerns are recognised, the Government has also undertaken an intensive campaign of engagement with our EU partners and the EU Institutions. This approach has delivered for Ireland and I look forward to continuing the efforts of my predecessor in this regard. I have already held bilateral meetings with a number of my EU colleagues since assuming my new responsibilities, including with the EU’s lead negotiator, Michel Barnier, as well with my French and Slovak counterparts during visits to Paris and Bratislava on 5 July and 7 July respectively while on 3 July I welcomed my Finnish counterpart to Ireland when I brought on a visit to the border. In addition, I met the UK’s Secretary of State for Exiting the EU, David Davis, in London on 6 July and I have spoken by telephone with the UK’s Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson.
I will normally represent Ireland at the General Affairs Council (Art. 50). The GAC (Art. 50) will have a key role to play in providing political oversight of the Article 50 negotiations as they proceed and in preparing the work of the European Council (Art. 50), where Ireland is represented by the Taoiseach.
The European Union Division in my Department is headed by a Second Secretary General with a particular focus on Brexit issues, and has been strengthened by the appointment of an Assistant Secretary to work with him. He oversees a dedicated six-person unit on the EU-UK negotiations in the Division. The EU Division works closely with the Department’s Ireland, UK and Americas Division, Legal Division and Trade Division, which also deal with aspects of Brexit. The resources for these Divisions have also been reinforced. Specific additional senior diplomatic posts have also been assigned to our Embassies in London, Berlin and Paris as well as the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the European Union in Brussels, while reporting on Brexit issues is a top priority for all our EU Missions. There is daily coordination with the Department of the Taoiseach, which serves the Taoiseach as a member of the European Council. There is also close engagement with other Government Departments and their “Brexit” teams.
The precise operational arrangements for co-operation between Departments are being reviewed in the light of my Ministerial remit.
Brexit will also have implications for a broad range of policy areas that fall under the responsibility of my Department. We have cooperated closely with the UK within the EU on a number of these important areas, including in the areas of foreign and development policy as well as in economic and trade policy. A key priority for my Department is therefore to build on our partnerships with the remaining EU Member States and develop new alliances within the EU and engage more proactively with the EU institutions. This work is already underway. Discussions with EU partners have revealed that they too are very mindful of the need to intensify alliances post-Brexit and are also looking at how best to do so.
We have already seen the implications that Brexit has had for our consular and passport services. There has been a marked increase in demand for passports and citizenship via foreign birth registration from applicants in Northern Ireland and Great Britain. In this regard, the Passport Service in Dublin, Cork and London as well as Consular Division have recruited a number of additional temporary and fulltime officers to meet increased Passport and Foreign Birth Registration demands including increased demand as a result of Brexit.
It is also the Government’s objective to exploit fully any opportunities arising from the UK’s decision to leave the EU and my Department, in collaboration with other Government Departments and State Agencies, is working to support Irish businesses to identify new opportunities for their products and services by diversifying into new markets as well as intensifying efforts in existing markets. The work is being taken forward through the Export Trade Council which I chair.
