Managing our response to Brexit has impacted on the work of many staff at Headquarters and a significant number of those overseas. Our approach has not been merely to recruit or assign additional staff, but rather also to prioritise Brexit across the entire range of work of the Department. There is no State Agency under the aegis of my Department.
Additional staff have been assigned to the key Divisions with responsibility for Brexit matters, namely the European Union Division and the Ireland, UK and Americas (IUKA) Division, to cover the issues arising from the UK exit process.
For operational and service-oriented units like the Passport Office and Consular service, there has been a marked increase in demand for passports and citizenship via foreign birth registration from applicants in Northern Ireland and in Britain.
Many business units of my Department at headquarters in Dublin are involved in the response to the UK exit, including the Legal Division, the Trade Division and the Policy Planning Unit. Further information on some of the new positions established in these Divisions as a consequence of Brexit is provided in the table.
Overseas, additional posts have been assigned to our Embassies in London, Berlin, and Paris as well as the Permanent Representation of Ireland to the European Union in Brussels (PRB). Details are provided in the table.
In 2018 an additional €4 million has been allocated to the Department’s budget including to support the ongoing complex and intensive Article 50 negotiation process. These additional resources will be targeted at the management of the negotiations on UK withdrawal and subsequent agreements; enhanced Brexit co-ordination, promotion and public engagement/outreach on the Future of Europe; resources for the processing of a significant increase in Foreign Birth Registrations; a targeted response in new and mature markets to mitigate the economic impact of British withdrawal and targeted additional resources in EU capitals focused on trade and economic promotion and further enhancement of key strategic relationships/partnerships.
In 2017 €2 million in additional resources was provided in support for Brexit negotiations and for additional staff in key Embassies in Europe. In addition, €3.2 million was transferred, along with the staffing, from the Department of the Taoiseach to my Department for the establishment of a new EU Division which, together with the Department's Ireland, UK and Americas Division, has key responsibility for Brexit matters and seeking to ensure that Ireland’s interests are safeguarded during the negotiations on the UK’s EU withdrawal.
The Deputy will appreciate that I am not yet in a position to outline additional budget allocations in 2019 and subsequent years.
These measures remain under review. The Department will allocate additional staff resources as deemed necessary to further augment our level of support across Government and across our diplomatic mission network.
New posts dedicated to Brexit-related work
|
HQ/Mission
|
Location
|
Grade
|
No.
|
|
Mission
|
London
|
Counsellor(Jan 2018)
|
1
|
|
Mission
|
London
|
First Secretary
|
1
|
|
Mission
|
London
|
HEO
|
1
|
|
Mission
|
London
|
EO
|
1
|
|
Mission
|
London
|
Third Secretary
|
2
|
|
Mission
|
London
|
Interns
|
5
|
|
Mission
|
London
|
TCOs
|
|
|
Mission
|
Paris
|
Counsellor
|
1
|
|
Mission
|
Berlin
|
Counsellor
|
1
|
|
Mission
|
PRB
|
Counsellor
|
1
|
|
Mission
|
PRB
|
First Secretary
|
1
|
|
Mission
|
PRB
|
Third Secretary
|
1
|
|
HQ
|
EU Division
|
Counsellor
|
1
|
|
HQ
|
EU Division
|
First Secretary
|
2
|
|
HQ
|
EU Division
|
Third Secretary
|
3
|
|
HQ
|
EU Division
|
CO
|
1
|
|
HQ
|
Ireland, UK & Americas Division
|
First Secretary
|
2
|
|
HQ
|
Ireland, UK & Americas Division
|
Third Secretary
|
1
|
|
HQ
|
Communications
|
First Secretary
|
1
|
|
HQ
|
Communications
|
Third Secretary
|
1
|
|
HQ
|
Legal Division
|
Assistant Legal Advisor
|
1
|
|
HQ
|
Trade Division
|
First Secretary
|
1
|
|
Total
|
|
|
30
|
