Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. Earlier in the discussions on Brexit, one of the most important issues we as a Parliament and as a people will face, we spoke about the skill set required in our public administration to deal with it. In particular, we spoke about the skill set within the Taoiseach's Department.

On the negotiations that will start once Article 50 is triggered, has the Taoiseach undertaken an analysis of the skill set required to support him and his Department relating specifically to Brexit? Does he have the economic evaluation capacity within his Department? Who specifically is involved? Has the Taoiseach appointed a new economic adviser to replace the economic adviser who left during the course of last year? In terms of one of the most important aspects from Ireland's perspective, international trade negotiation, does the Taoiseach's Department have the skill set to input within the negotiations by the EU 27 a capacity to understand and people who have been involved in international trade negotiations? Specifically, who are those people who will give him that direct support?

In terms of the nine direct hires he has made - I understand that the Taoiseach will circulate a list relating to those to us - will they assist specifically in the Brexit process? Will the Taoiseach provide the House with a flavour of the specific roles those nine direct hires were recruited to fulfil?

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