I propose to take Questions Nos. 492 and 493 together.
My Department is working with other Departments, through whole-of-Government coordination structures, on preparedness actions in relation to Brexit, in line with the Government Decision of 18 July. From an agri-food perspective this includes implementation of the steps necessary to facilitate potentially greatly increased Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) controls, which in turn will require staffing, infrastructural and IT requirements to be addressed at ports and airports.
My Department’s most immediate Brexit planning relates to the phased recruitment of staff for SPS and fisheries controls up to 2021, and the implementation of Phase One of the staffing project that is anticipated for 2019. The latter involves the recruitment of additional staff for SPS and fisheries controls, as agreed by Government on 18 September. The necessary arrangements to commence this recruitment process are currently being put in place.
The Department is also feeding intensively into the wider ongoing process around the infrastructural requirements at ports and airports, and will continue to liaise closely with the Office of Public Works, in particular, in this regard.
The following table shows the number of Veterinary recruitments in my Department since June 23rd 2016:
Year
|
Number of recruitments
|
2016
|
10
|
2017
|
22
|
2018
|
15
|
Total
|
47
|