HC Deb 15 July 1999 vol 335 cc289-90W
Mr. Matthew Taylor

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many times Ministers in his Department have held meetings with ministers and officials of the Irish Government since 1 January, indicating the dates and locations of each meeting, the Ministers involved and the names of the Irish ministers and officials at each meeting. [90411]

Mr. Robin Cook

There has been one formal bilateral meeting of a Foreign Office Minister with an Irish Minister since 1 January 1999. The Minister of State, my right hon. Friend the Member for Gateshead, East and Washington, West (Ms Quin), met Ms Sile de Valera, Irish Minister for Arts, Culture, the Gaeltacht (Irish speaking area) and the Islands, in the FCO on 17 June. Irish officials in attendance were Mr. Tadgh O'hEalaithe, Secretary General of the Department of Arts; Mr. Geoffrey Keating, First Secretary, Irish Embassy; and Ms Sheila Clifford, Ms de Valera's personal assistant.

I have regularly met the Irish Foreign Minister, David Andrews, at EU Councils, including the monthly meetings of the General Affairs Council, and have often held exchanges with him in the margins.