Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2017
1734. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if there is a senior official with designated responsibility for Brexit matters in his Department; if so, the grade of the designated official; the funding allocated to the Brexit unit; the cost to date; the anticipated cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37998/17]
View answer1735. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of staff deployed full time in his Department in respect of Brexit; if there is a designated section or unit to deal with Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38014/17]
View answer1755. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the status of the development of sectorial response plans to Brexit, the publication date of these plans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38700/17]
View answer1756. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the issues identified for consideration in the context of Brexit including opportunities and their prioritisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38716/17]
View answer1757. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the details of issues identified for consideration in the context of Brexit including threats and their prioritisation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38732/17]
View answer1758. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the scenario planning that has been conducted by his Department for Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38748/17]
View answer1759. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the methodology employed in the prioritisation of responses to Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38764/17]
View answer1760. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the funds that have been requested in response to threats resulting from Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38780/17]
View answer1761. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the funds have been allocated in response to threats resulting from Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38812/17]
View answer1762. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of vacancies in his Department for Brexit-related roles; the expected date for these rolls to be filled; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38828/17]
View answer1763. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development his Department’s priorities for risk mitigation in response to Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38844/17]
View answer1764. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the membership and role of all Brexit-related stakeholder engagement groups working with his Department on Brexit issues; the number of times each stakeholder group has met; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38860/17]
View answer1765. Deputy Stephen S. Donnelly asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the Brexit-related research currently being undertaken by his Department; the topics under consideration; the date this research commenced; the expected date for completion and publication in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38892/17]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1734, 1735 and 1755 to 1765, inclusive, together.
My colleague the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Mr. Simon Coveney, T.D., has the primary responsibility for leading on Brexit negotiations. My Department is contributing on an ongoing basis to discussions and providing policy advice relevant to its remit as and when required.
The comprehensive document “Ireland and the negotiations on the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union: The Government’s Approach”, published on 2 May, outlined in detail the structures put in place by the Government to ensure a strategic and whole-of-Government response to Brexit that ensures a co-ordinated approach to the identification of key priority issues for the EU-UK negotiations and the wider domestic response.
Since the publication of the comprehensive document, the Government has sought to further increase its strategic oversight of Brexit through the addition of a dedicated responsibility for Brexit matters to the role of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade. The Cabinet Committee structures have also been reformed and new Cabinet Committees relating respectively to the Economy, and EU Affairs, including Brexit and the Economic Response to Brexit, have been established to provide an opportunity for cross-departmental input into the issues.
My Department of Rural and Community Development has been established to deliver on the Government’s commitment to bring a greater degree of coordination and cohesion to all of the work of Government in so far as it impacts on rural Ireland. The impact of Brexit on regional and rural businesses and on communities is relevant across a number of policy areas of my Department. In this context, considerations around the impact of Brexit are shared across different policy areas, rather than being assigned to a single Unit.
In addition, my role in the Cabinet Committee on the Economy gives me a specific forum to raise issues for Rural Ireland relating to the Economy, Jobs, the Labour Market, Competitiveness, Productivity, Trade, the Action Plan on Rural Development and the Digital Economy, including managing and mitigating the risks associated with Brexit.
