Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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347. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if there is a senior official with designated responsibility for Brexit matters in her 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 she will make a statement on the matter. [17005/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The work of very many Business Units is impacted by Brexit and the Department as a whole has prioritised the Brexit challenges in its work plans for 2017 across all its Divisions.

A dedicated Brexit Unit was established in 2016 and is led at Assistant Secretary level within the EU Affairs, Trade Policy and Safety and Chemicals Policy Division, to coordinate and represent the Departmental and Agencies response to Brexit and to support me in my position at the Cabinet Committee on Brexit. The designated official, at Assistant Secretary level, is supported by 1 Principal, 1 Assistant Principal, 1 Higher Executive Officer and 1 Clerical Officer. Additional staffing resources are being recruited to support the Brexit Unit, and other areas of the Department impacted by Brexit in the immediate period ahead, on foot of a recently completed workforce planning exercise for the Department in respect of the period 2017-2019.

The full year salary costs for the Brexit Unit, including the additional staffing resources to be recruited, is estimated at approximately €500,000. In addition to this, funding is available to undertake appropriate research, and in light of the substantial programme of visits ongoing and planned at Ministerial and Official level to other capital cities as part of our outreach to our European partners, there will be associated travel and subsistence costs.

Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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348. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of staff deployed full time in her Department in respect of Brexit; if there is a designated section or unit to deal with Brexit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17021/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Staffing levels of my Department reflect the requirement to manage the pay bill and staff numbers in accordance with Government pay policy with staff resources deployed in the most effective and efficient manner as appropriate to business needs and key priorities at any given time.

An additional €3 million was secured in respect of Pay in Budget 2017 and is being targeted specifically to assist in our response to the evolving Brexit scenario. It is enabling the Department and, primarily, our Agencies recruit some 40 to 50 additional staff to supplement existing staffing numbers. These numbers may grow as Agencies allocate additional Own Resource Income, by agreement with the Department, to recruit further staff to work on "Brexit-related" activity.

The additional €3m has been allocated across:

- Enterprise Ireland

- IDA Ireland

- Science Foundation Ireland

- The Health and Safety Authority, and

- The Department itself (€250,000)

The Department as a whole has prioritised the Brexit challenges in its work plans for 2017 across all its Divisions. Brexit Unit staffing has been set at a team of 4 full-time staff for now as follows: 1 Principal, 1 Assistant Principal, 1 Higher Executive Officer and 1 Clerical Officer. In addition, the work of very many Business Units across the Department is impacted by Brexit. These Units have finalised their business plans for 2017 and the impact of Brexit for their work has been fully factored in. In addition, a workforce planning process spanning the years 2017-19 has recently been concluded. This process was coordinated by my Department's HR Unit and reviewed the level of resources assigned across all Divisions of the Department in relation to our current strategic priorities, and, naturally, responding to Brexit features heavily in the plan. In this regard additional staffing resources will be recruited to support the Brexit Unit and other areas of the Department impacted by Brexit in the immediate period ahead.