Mr. Derek Moran:

We have done a lot of the economic analysis, which Mr. McCarthy will elaborate on in a few minutes. Trade promotion is the responsibility of the Departments of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. However, all Departments have a contribution to make on this area, as has the Cabinet committee. Senior officials from all Departments are co-ordinating this work but under the aegis of the Department of Finance. There is a lot of activity but we have to bring focus to it. I hope I have answered the Chairman's question regarding what the Department of Finance brings to the table in terms of helping address the issue. The speech earlier in the week by the UK Prime Minister brings focus to the fact that Brexit will be a hard rather than soft exit, which raises a number of issues, some of which are as yet unclear. The UK proposes to withdraw from the customs union but wants to have an associated customs arrangement. It is not clear what that will be. We are working our way through what the WTO will look like if that happens but it is not yet clear that this is what the Prime Minister intends to negotiate. Turkey has an arrangement with the EU around customs union on goods that go into the EU. It is expected that the negotiation will be in that type of space. The effort is centrally co-ordinated but it cuts across all Departments and not only the Department of Finance.

My colleague, Mr. John McCarthy, will elaborate on the economic issues.