Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 to 19, inclusive, together.

Brexit is being treated as a crucial cross-cutting whole of Government issue. In my own Department, I have implemented significant restructuring by creating an amalgamated international, EU and Northern Ireland division under a second Secretary General. This restructuring brings responsibility within my Department for relevant international issues together in a single integrated division. This division supports the Cabinet Committee on Brexit and EU Affairs and manages the overall co-ordination of Brexit issues across Government. There are 31 staff working in this division, including a small number of people seconded from outside the Department. The resources of the division are kept under review. While the staff in this division deal with a wide variety of issues, Brexit is an increasingly significant factor across the division.

Work on Brexit is also supported by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Flanagan, and his Department, which now has a greater role in EU matters overall, with a newly created EU division and the existing division dealing with Anglo-Irish affairs both having important roles to play. Across Government, relevant Departments, agencies and overseas missions are being strengthened to deal with Brexit. More generally, each Department continues to have lead responsibility for Brexit issues relating to its departmental remit. There is a broad range of overall co-ordination and consultation structures across Government, including the Cabinet committee and supporting senior officials group, and a wide range of working groups are in place. Arrangements for handling Brexit are in place in each Department and resources have been allocated where needed.

The Brexit stakeholder group, which was set up pre-referendum as an information sharing forum, last met in October 2016. Since then we have broadened our stakeholder consultation and engagement through the all-island Civic Dialogue process, which began with a plenary session on 2 November. The second plenary session takes place this Friday, 17 February. Between these two plenary meetings, 14 sectoral meetings examining specific policy areas in greater detail will also have taken place. Members of those groups have been involved in these dialogues. This consultation process allows the Government to listen to, and to capture, the views of those most directly affected by the impact of Brexit from across the island in advance of formal negotiations.

The Cabinet Committee on Brexit meets on a regular basis to deal with Brexit related issues. The last meeting of the Cabinet committee took place on 26 January.

See this speech in context