Stephen Donnelly
Question:261. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Finance the number of staff within the Revenue Commissioners tasked with Brexit-related matters; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19891/17]
View answerTuesday, 2 May 2017
Questions (261)
Written answers
I am advised by Revenue that they, like all Government Departments, have a dedicated Brexit Unit headed by an Assistant Secretary. As the issues arising from Brexit involve many areas of Revenue’s work, the role of the dedicated Brexit Unit (currently 9 full-time equivalents) is to draw together the expertise from relevant specialist areas and provide advice for Government, while working closely with the Department of Finance and within the interdepartmental structures which have been established by the Department of the Taoiseach. Support for the Brexit Unit also involves significant input from areas such as information technology, legislation, international relations, customs, tax and statistics. The Board and Management Committee receive a monthly briefing, and are individually involved in strategic issues.
It is not possible to give an accurate assessment of the full-time equivalent number of persons engaged at any time, but it is the case that the Brexit Unit is at the centre of a major organisation-wide effort to contribute to the protection of Ireland’s interests in the Brexit negotiations and to prepare Revenue to manage the implications arising. The present full-time resource is sufficient for the exploration of possible Brexit scenarios. As more certainty emerges about the likely timescale and arrangements for Brexit, related work will absorb an increasing amount of Revenue’s resources, and new resources will be deployed as required.