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

The Government is following the DeSouza case very closely. I have not raised it personally with the Prime Minister, but I believe the Tánaiste has raised it with his counterparts in discussions. As far as the Government is concerned, the Good Friday Agreement is explicit on this matter. People have the right to be British or Irish or both and to be accepted as such. That applies, and should apply, to both Governments, in our view.

We have regular discussions with the DUP at political level and advisory level. The relationship is good and we understand its position very well. It is that Northern Ireland should leave the European Union on the same terms as the rest of the UK and there should be no difference between Northern Ireland and Great Britain. That is its position, and it has never demurred from it. It is a misunderstanding to believe it is open to persuasion on these matters but that is not to say that we do not talk regularly or that we do not have an understanding. We do.

Issues such as abortion and marriage equality are regularly discussed when I meet political leaders in Northern Ireland or when I am in Northern Ireland and speaking to everyday people. Of course, decisions on those matters should be made in Northern Ireland by the Executive and the Assembly, and are not decisions for us to make for them.

I do not know the details of any customs training programmes. I will ask the Revenue Commissioners to reply to Deputy Burton on that matter. In terms of staffing levels, I am told that Revenue had just over 100 staff dedicated to customs and trade facilitation functions at the start of September last year. In addition to the staff assigned to trade facilitation work, there are approximately 120 staff in ports and airports who are responsible for ensuring compliance with customs procedures. In the context of Brexit, the Government approved the phased recruitment of 600 extra Revenue staff in September, and in preparation for a no-deal Brexit, Revenue has accelerated and expanded its recruitment and training schedules to meet the end of March deadline. It is now on track to have over 400 additional staff in place. Existing staff have been reassigned and preparations are being made for any necessary further redeployments on a temporary basis. The balance of additional staff will have to be recruited by the end of this year. Activities are being co-ordinated across the Government to ensure optimal trade facilitation at the ports and airports.

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