Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It is a little like Groundhog Day in that there is only one piece of legislation on the Department of the Taoiseach's list and we are again rehearsing the progress of the legislation to put the NESC on a statutory footing. I am interested in hearing if that legislation is going ahead and, if so, when it will be published.

More importantly, the Taoiseach told us some time ago that there are a number of contingency plans across all Departments in the event of a hard Brexit. Obviously, these contingency plans have not been published as of yet. Presumably, the Taoiseach's Department has such contingency plans. Do they include specific legislation that might need to be enacted in that eventuality? The Taoiseach previously offered a briefing on the contingency planning across Government. What is the status of that briefing such that those of us in opposition might know specifically what is being planned in the event of a hard Brexit?

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