Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On the Deputy's final point, I should point out that as soon as David Cameron announced he was going to hold a referendum the Department put together a contingency team. Once the referendum vote had taken place the Department established a Brexit unit. It is managed by an assistant secretary general but is answerable at all times to the Secretary General. As I said, Brexit is a standing item on the agenda of the high level implementation committee. Of all the Departments, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine was the most concerned about it and the most hopeful that it would not happen, but it was ready and it is working as best it can. As has been said to me several times, Brexit is not an Irish policy, it is a UK policy, but we have not got those in the UK to sit down talk in any meaningful way about it. They are only starting, and we saw the opening salvos yesterday with the Queen's speech.

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