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

I welcome the Deputy back and wish him and his party a happy new year.

The withdrawal agreement is the only agreement on the table, and it has been supported by 28 Governments, including that of the United Kingdom. We will allow the democratic process to take its course in Westminster tonight, when the British Parliament will vote on the withdrawal agreement and four amendments. We will review the position tomorrow in consultation with our EU colleagues. At Cabinet earlier, we discussed preparation for a no-deal. I still believe a no-deal is unlikely but we must be prepared for it, or at least as prepared as any country can be. We discussed four memos which related to the common travel area, medicine supply, transport and, perhaps most important, the legislation that will be required. We are happy to share that legislation with the Opposition, and the Tánaiste has been in touch with spokespeople to organise briefings with the Opposition this afternoon. After we have briefed the Opposition, we will brief the media.

In response to the Deputy's questions on the ports and the airports, planning permission will not be required in most cases. What will be required, however, are parking areas and parking bays, and a certain amount of accommodation for staff. Where planning permission is needed, the Minister for Finance can use his powers to make directions to the Office of Public Works.

On medicines, a plan has been put in place and a working group, comprising representatives from the Department of Health, the HSE, the Health Products Regulatory Authority and the Food Safety Authority, has met every week for nearly two years. It has advised against stockpiling because it believes stockpiling may cause a break in supply, although it is working closely with the pharmaceutical industry and the main wholesalers to ensure an adequate supply. It has identified a watch-list of approximately 24 medicines about which we are most concerned. As the Deputy will know, between approximately 60% and 70% of medicines transit the UK or come from the UK. The watch-list has been developed, and those 24 medicines are the ones to which we must pay particular attention.

On legislation, we agreed we would put all the necessary legislation relating to Brexit into one large, omnibus Brexit Bill, with 17 different parts to it, that is, effectively 17 pieces of legislation in one, covering a number of different areas which I can outline in my follow-up reply. We are keen to consult and seek co-operation and engagement from the Opposition on getting this legislation through. We published our legislative programme earlier. Most of the time when a legislative programme is produced, there will be 20, 30 or 40 Bills, but there are only six on the priority list for this session in order that we can ensure we give all the time to the legislation that is needed in the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and the House.

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