Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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1978. To ask the Minister for Social Protection if an analysis of potential risks to State pensions has been conducted with regard to Brexit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26564/17]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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1979. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the estimated cost of a hard Brexit scenario on child benefit payments between the United Kingdom and the State in Northern Ireland only; the value of child benefit payments made; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26567/17]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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1996. To ask the Minister for Social Protection the threats identified by her Department with regard to the responsibilities of her Department as a result of no deal being reached in Brexit negotiations; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26909/17]

Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1978, 1979 and 1996 together.

It is important to state that the current arrangements for social security between Ireland and the UK, and the UK and EU27, have not changed. All social welfare payments, including pensions and Child Benefit, continue to be paid as normal.

The Government's long-term objective is to ensure that the reciprocity of civic rights and social welfare rights and entitlements, which currently exist for Irish and UK citizens moving within Ireland and between Ireland and Britain under the Common Travel Area (CTA), are safeguarded and maintained. The importance of maintaining the CTA has been acknowledged in Prime Minister May’s letter of 29 March 2017 triggering Article 50 of the TEU and the European Council guidelines of 29 April 2017.

The Department is conducting an assessment of the implications for relevant social security schemes and services including pensions, Child Benefit and services between Ireland and the UK, including Northern Ireland. This is part of the ongoing Brexit analysis for input into the wider Government deliberative process.

For information and with regard to Child Benefit there are, at present, 790 families living in Northern Ireland to whom Child Benefit is paid in respect of some 1,720 children. The number of recipients living in the UK is lower with 60 families receiving Child Benefit in respect of 115 children. The estimated cost of these payments is just under €3 million per annum.

More broadly, on 2nd May, the Government published a comprehensive document on Ireland and the negotiations on the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union. This document sets out the approach of the Government to the forthcoming negotiations, following the successful campaign to have key Irish issues recognised in the EU negotiation position.Following on from this publication, work is underway to prepare a further paper on economic implications of the Brexit challenge. This will draw on the work to date across Departments, which will be developed to mitigate emerging sectorial challenges. These plans will build on ongoing cross-Government research, analysis and consultations with stakeholders, and will reflect the core economic themes of the Taoiseach's speech to the IIEA on 15 February last. Ireland’s economic interests lie firmly in a strong and well-functioning EU with continued and unfettered access to the single market. There is a lot of negotiation to be done around trading arrangements. The Government’s contingency work is examining all scenarios and the outcome cannot be pre-empted at this stage. We are not under any illusions about the complexity of these negotiations and are engaged in detailed planning to prepare for these.