Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 23 January 2019
224. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the number of regular grade civil servants his Department has hired in advance of a no-deal Brexit; the number of specialist grade civil servants hired in advance of same; the budget made available in advance of Brexit for hiring of staff in advance of the UK withdrawal from the EU; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3327/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department was established to bring a greater level of coordination and cohesion to policies that impact rural Ireland and communities in order that economic recovery can be felt right across the country.
Part of that involves ensuring the potential impacts of the UK’s decision to leave the European Union are mitigated in those communities most likely to be affected by Brexit. Regional and rural businesses face enormous potential challenges on this front, particularly in the Border region and this 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 or dedicated staff.
My Department has undertaken a workforce planning process under the guidance of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Part of this process was to identify any additional Brexit related roles, and/or Brexit related duties, which will be assigned to existing posts.
Any new posts identified will be filled from our existing 2019 pay allocation and will also form part of our staffing resource needs, which were included in our submission to the Estimates process for 2019.
