Question to the Northern Ireland Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, what discussions his Department had with the Government of the Republic of Ireland prior to the imposition of border checks on the UK-Republic of Ireland border.

Since the start of this pandemic, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has met regularly with the Irish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive to coordinate the coronavirus response.

The Secretary of State and the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs recently chaired a conference call with the First Minister and deputy First Minister, and the Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland Health Ministers to discuss the ongoing response to Covid-19 on the island of Ireland.

There has been no discussion of the imposition of checks in the Republic of Ireland. The enforcement of Covid restrictions in the Republic of Ireland is a matter for the Irish Government.