Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy Collins referred to the Brexit unit. I will describe to him exactly what is going on in the Department. In addition to the Brexit unit I chair a fortnightly meeting which is attended by the chief executives of the IDA, Enterprise Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland, InterTradeIreland and whichever other groups we need to make sure we are cognisant of what is happening in the various sectors.

The Secretary General of the Department chairs another meeting with stakeholders such as the Small Firms Association and the various trade organisations, including Retail Excellence and IBEC, which is led by Danny McCoy, and various other groups to ensure that we know exactly what is happening.

The Department is conducting pilot projects across three sectoral areas and will then address a further 11 sectoral areas that will be affected by Brexit. I assure the Deputy that much work is going on. We have the very best people involved. The Secretary General attends a meeting every fortnight and I, as Minister, and others are also present at those meetings making sure that Enterprise Ireland, the IDA, InterTradeIreland all respond adequately to the Brexit challenge as well as the opportunities it presents.

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