Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On the issue of Brexit, as Taoiseach I will be attending the European Council. The treaties and the rules are clear as to who can attend the European Council and who cannot. I will be attending the European Council and dealing with European affairs and Brexit at that level, that is, at the level of Prime Minister, the Commission and the Council. I am ably supported by a team lead by Mr. John Callinan, the second Secretary General, who is also the sherpa in that regard. The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Coveney, will report to me, but aside from that fact he will co-ordinate the more general response to Brexit. That is the work done by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade - alongside the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee - namely, attending GAC engagements with other foreign ministers but also pulling together the responses from different Departments, for example the response of Deputy Fitzgerald's Department and the response from the Department of Justice and Equality that may be required to deal with visas and other matters. All of that will be done under the leadership of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Coveney, but he will of course report to me as Taoiseach. It will be my responsibility to attend the European Council and to engage with Heads of State and Government and the Presidents of the European institutions.

I have not assigned policy roles to different advisers yet and I am still trying to figure out what the best way is to employ the people that I have working around me. The previous Taoiseach had two assigned to policy roles, one of which pertained to economics.

The position was not subsequently refilled and there were a number on press and other matters. I need to figure that out.

In terms of policy substance, over the past six years there have been 20 Bills brought from initiation to full enactment, which is a reasonably good record for legislation produced in three Departments in that time. On the allowances, we are trying to work out what the law provides for and whether the Chief Whip's allowance can be treated separately from the allowances paid to the other Ministers of State. I hope to get solid legal advice on that within a couple of weeks.

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