Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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244. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if there is a senior official with designated responsibility for Brexit matters in his Department; if so, the grade of the designated official; the funding allocated to the said Brexit unit; the cost to date; the anticipated cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17008/17]

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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245. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the number of staff deployed full-time in his Department in respect of Brexit; if there is a designated section or unit to deal with Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17024/17]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 244 and 245 together.

The Department’s EU and International section [including Irish-UK Relations] is led by an Assistant Secretary. The Irish-UK Relations unit has, at present, three additional staff assigned to it, two Assistant Principals and one Executive Officer on a four-day per week basis due to worksharing.

In addition to the salary costs for the three extra staff referenced above, additional budgetary resources have been assigned to this unit under the Department’s Administrative Budget to cover travel and subsistence and the cost, where necessary, of facilitating the Department’s Brexit consultative process with key stakeholders. Both staffing and funding requirements are being kept under continuous review.

More generally, the Management Board of the Department of Social Protection has been fully engaged with the social protection implications of the vote by the UK to leave the EU and, indeed, the earlier negotiations on the UK’s relationship with the EU; a sub-group of the Management Board is in place and the Board also receives regular updates on the key developments relating to Brexit.