In the programme for Government, under the subheading "Ireland-UK Relations", it is stated, "Building on the successful state visits [and so on], we will continue to enhance Ireland's relationship with the United Kingdom [and so forth]". Amid everything that has happened in the past two weeks, there was a very serious breach and leak of foreign affairs documentation. Our diplomats, as he knows, tour capitals across Europe and the rest of the world. They interview people, including senior people in governments, politicians, civil servants, judges and stakeholders in society. They do so to get some understanding of what drives policy in different capitals across Europe. I am a former Minister for Foreign Affairs and those documents are invaluable in building up what one could call low-grade intelligence in terms of understanding what is going on in other capitals to inform policy and the Government's response. Such a document - I cannot remember a precedent for this-----

I thank the Deputy. His time is up.

-----was released recently in a leak to a very good journalist but, from the perspective of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, I think it will damage UK-Ireland relations. A British judge was quoted, so how can any diplomat, civil servant or politician around the world have any confidence in the Irish Government's-----

The Deputy's time is up.

-----capacity any more to garner such off-the-record briefings and so on? In light of the programme for Government commitment and the damage this has done to our relationship with Britain, about which there is no doubt, will the Taoiseach confirm that an investigation of that breach has taken place? Will he undertake to update the House in this regard and let us know the outcome of that investigation, if indeed the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has commissioned one?

I call on the Minister, Deputy Coveney.

I am happy to answer that question. The Deputy will understand this only too well as a former Minister in the Department. We get weekly working briefings from our diplomatic missions across the European Union giving us feedback on the issues of the week and the day. Obviously, there is a lot of feedback on Brexit at present. In this case that weekly briefing documentation, which is circulated quite widely within not only the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade but also some other Departments in order to keep people informed of the state of play as we get feedback from our various different consulates and embassies was leaked to a journalist.

It should not have happened and we are engaged in an internal investigation within the Department to discover how it did. We are also reviewing the circulation of working briefing documents on a weekly basis to ensure it does not happen again. We have explained that very clearly to our counterparts in the British Government.