Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 11 September 2017
371. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills 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. [37990/17]
View answerUnder the direction of my Department’s management board, the EU/International Unit under the leadership of a Deputy Secretary General is working with Departmental divisions and agencies on analysing and prioritising issues for input to the negotiation phase. Between December and January the unit oversaw extensive engagement that I and Minister of State, Deputy John Halligan had with the education sector in the form of four Brexit consultation fora for the higher, further education and training; and primary and post-primary education sectors. This was supplemented by a joint Enterprise Skills Brexit stakeholder consultation on 3 July 2017, led by the Tánaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, at which both I and Minister of State Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor participated.
The EU/International Unit has also supported my engagement at political and institutional level on our Brexit agenda. I have met counterparts Peter Weir and Simon Hamilton of the NI Executive, and most recently met with the UK’s Secretary of State for Education, Justine Greening. Meetings were also held with the former Minister of State for Exiting the EU, David Jones, the UK’s Opposition Spokesperson on Brexit, Keir Starmer, as well as members of the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Irish in Britain. Meetings have also taken place with Ministers from other EU Member States and with representatives of the EU Commission including Commissioner Navracsics.
The EU/International Unit of my Department has been given overall responsibility for co-ordinating our response to Brexit. This Unit has been prioritising Brexit work to date and will keep staffing requirements under constant review.
In discharging its Brexit-related functions, the EU/International Unit participates in the Inter-Departmental senior officials group, chaired by the Department of the Taoiseach, which co-ordinates the whole-of-Government response to the outcome of the UK referendum, and supports the Cabinet Committee on the European Union including Brexit. This is further underpinned by the unit's active engagement with other Departments in Brexit Workgroups on the Economy and Trade; the Common Travel Area; and European Union Programmes - three of the six sectorial workgroups established to provide key sectorial or thematic advices to the Cabinet Committee and Government. The unit also chairs the Education and Research subgroup under the Economy and Trade strand of co-ordination. The subgroup includes relevant areas within the Department and relevant agencies of the Department and other Departments/agencies.
As specific issues on the negotiations agenda emerge, the Department will ensure timely, focused inputs from the relevant policy areas and external stakeholders, through appropriate consultative mechanisms.
Significant additional resource requirements are not envisaged during the negotiation phase, but for those that will arise, it is anticipated that costs arising can be provided for from within existing Departmental budgets.
