Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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29. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on Ireland's domestic preparedness for Brexit and contingency planning in the event of a hard Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28002/18]

Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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I was concerned by the Tánaiste's statement that he wanted to see a backstop start to take shape. We were told that the backstop was already in place. While Prime Minister May has said that the UK has a responsibility to help find a solution, that is far from a commitment to delivering a solution.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I am sorry, but I need to correct the record for the Deputy. The backstop is not already in place, and will not be until it is in the form of a legally operable text-----

Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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That is my point.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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-----in the withdrawal treaty. The commitment is in place. That commitment is cast-iron and clear. The language does not lie. The commitment was followed up in March when the British Government agreed that not only would it agree to a backstop, but it would agree to a backstop being in the withdrawal agreement unless and until something better was agreed. The challenge now is to make that a reality in the context of the legal text of a withdrawal treaty that has legal effect. That is what we are trying to do.

Regarding the co-ordination of the whole-of-Government response to Brexit and the need to put contingency planning in place, contingency planning for a no-deal or worst-case outcome, bringing together the detailed work being undertaken by individual Ministers and their Departments on issues within their policy remits, is well advanced. It focuses on the immediate economic, regulatory and operational challenges that would result from such an outcome. It assumes a trading relationship based on the default WTO rules, while also examining the possible effects on many other areas of concern. This work is therefore providing baseline scenarios for the impact of Brexit across all sectors, which can be adapted as appropriate in light of developments in the EU-UK negotiations, including in regard to transition arrangements and the future relationship. This approach is also enabling the modelling of potential responses under different scenarios, such as one where a withdrawal agreement is concluded and a free trade agreement is the basis for the future relationship between the EU and the UK. It also takes account of the planning being undertaken at EU level by the Commission preparedness unit, which is issuing information notes aimed at different business sectors and examining legislative actions that may be needed at EU level.

However, the Government is already acting in order to get Ireland Brexit ready. Dedicated measures were announced in budget 2018, including a new €300 million Brexit loan scheme for businesses and a €25 million Brexit response loan scheme for the agrifood sector. Capital expenditure of €116 billion under Project Ireland 2040 will allow the State and its agencies to plan major infrastructure projects properly while ensuring that communities and businesses can plan ahead.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

There was also increased funding provided to my Department in budget 2018 for the opening of six new diplomatic missions. A further seven new missions will be opened as part of the next phase of expanding Ireland's global footprint. These 13 new missions will be located in Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, North America and Oceania and will contribute to helping our exporters find new markets.

Our Government's enterprise agencies continue to work with companies, helping them to deal with Brexit by making them more competitive, diversifying market exposure and upskilling teams.

In total, 34 reports analysing the effects of Brexit across a broad range of sectors and, in some cases, setting out responses have been published to date by Departments. All of these reports are available on a dedicated Brexit web page on my Department's website.

Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My point was that the Tánaiste told us last December that we had a backstop. He used strong language to tell us that it was in place. He says that language does not lie, but it can be disputed. That is the problem. The Tánaiste also stated that preparations were well advanced, but it was only last weekend that the Taoiseach admitted that the Government was scenario planning for a potential hard Brexit. That is not well advanced - the Government is actually 18 months late in starting those preparations.

It is two years since the UK decided to leave. Responses to a series of parliamentary questions have revealed that the level of uptake by Irish businesses of a range of supports designed to mitigate against Brexit are low. Despite there being in excess of 250,000 enterprises in this country, just over 2,300 have made use of Enterprise Ireland's Brexit SME score card. Of the some 3,000 SMEs that engage with InterTradeIreland, only 281 have applied for its Brexit readiness vouchers, with just 107 successful in their applications. Only 2%, or approximately 100 businesses, of Enterprise Ireland's 5,600 companies have availed of its Be Prepared grant. Our SME preparedness level is worryingly low.

Does the Tánaiste accept that, when he and the Taoiseach oversold the backstop last December and prioritised spinning short-term progress as a major political win, they did so only to serve their own Fine Gael PR agenda?

In doing so, they basically told our business community it did not need to prepare. What will the Tánaiste do to increase business preparedness in this country?

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Unfortunately, the Deputy is getting party-political again. To accuse me of trying to take party-political advantage out of Brexit is a cheap shot considering how open I have been in the briefings I have provided and continue to provide, both on and off the record, to all parties, including her own. What she said is also inaccurate. We are not just starting Brexit preparation now; it has been going on for months.

Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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For a hard Brexit.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I have given a detailed update to Cabinet and I am happy to give a detailed update to the Deputy, if she wants it. She should read the reports we have published on different scenarios and the different levels of preparation that are required. For example, the ESRI has published four reports; the Department of Finance, three; the Revenue Commissioners, one; the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation has published 13 different reports trying to raise awareness among businesses; the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport has published a significant report; the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has published five different reports; the Department of Health has published four reports; and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs has published a report. No country has put the time and work into preparedness that Ireland has put into contingency planning for all scenarios. As time goes on, we will be more public about that. However, as the Deputy should be aware, there is good reason we should not publish everything we are doing in the context of the negotiations and the state they are in right now.

Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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There is no doubt the Tánaiste is good at briefings and reports, but we still do not have answers on the substantive issues. There has not been the substantive progress on the Border that the Tánaiste said was cast-iron and bullet-proof in terms of the backstop commitments. We were told we must be real about what is possible and what can be published, but it is not possible that I would know everything that is in the Tánaiste's mind it he is not briefing us on it.

The June Council meeting is not all about Brexit. Certainly, the impression given by the Tánaiste in the past couple of months was that this meeting would be the deadline when we would see substantial progress. However, Brexit is one of a number of issues to be discussed in June and the migration crisis will likely take precedence over it. In Mr. Jean-Claude Juncker's address to the joint siting of the Dáil and Seanad last week, he stated:

As the clock ticks down to Brexit, we must prepare for every eventuality, including no deal. This is neither a desired nor a likely outcome, but it is not an impossible one...

Only this week the Government admitted it was going to start planning for a potential hard Brexit. I did not suggest nothing had been done for other scenarios but, in regard to a hard Brexit, certainly nothing had been done at that stage. British and European trade unions and business organisations are now demanding pace and urgency and seeking measurable progress on the backstop arrangement for Ireland. They are now doing the Tánaiste's job by advocating for a solution to that issue. Leaving this until October leaves us in a vulnerable position.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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We are not leaving anything until October. We are working today, yesterday and tomorrow on trying to advance what we need in the context of protecting Irish people and Irish interests on the island of Ireland, and Irish people living in the UK in the context of Brexit. I met with Michel Barnier for well over an hour yesterday and we went through a lot of the detail in terms of what he would like progressed over the summer. We also spoke about the relationships we have and he has with the British Government and its key negotiators. I am in London next week to try to advance that and to talk to key British decision makers about the way forward as we see it. We want a good solution for Britain as well. Unfortunately, what we are hearing constantly out of Westminster is somewhat chaotic in terms of messaging and that needs to stop. We cannot stop it; that is a matter for the British political system to resolve.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Tánaiste. The time is up.

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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However, we can maintain a consistent and firm approach based on agreements that have been made in these negotiations. There are clear, important and valuable agreements that go back to last December and last March that we are now looking for follow through on over the summer months. That needs to be all of our focus in order to get it done, hopefully, well in advance of October.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Mick Barry has been given permission to take Question No. 30, which was tabled by Deputy Paul Murphy.