Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 April 2018
303. Deputy Pearse Doherty asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if the OPW has made efforts to secure new properties or previously owned properties along the Border in preparation for Brexit. [16081/18]
View answerI can confirm that the Commissioners of Public Works have not taken measures to secure either new properties or previously owned properties along the Border in preparation for Brexit.
The Government is continuing to work with the EU Taskforce and its EU27 partners with a view to achieving an orderly withdrawal, including a transition period, as well as agreeing a framework for an ambitious future relationship with the UK. In this regard, a Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland is an integral part of the draft Withdrawal Agreement. It is drafted to give legal effect to the commitments and guarantees provided in the EU-UK Joint Report of last December on avoiding a hard border and protecting the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts, including North South cooperation and rights. It also reflects the agreement reached on the maintaining the Common Travel Area.
The Commissioners of Public Works, in liaison with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, continue to contribute as appropriate to the whole-of-Government response to Brexit, which is being taken forward through the cross-Departmental coordination structures chaired by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
