Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

47. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if her Department has recruited experts in trade agreements to prepare for Brexit. [27559/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Following the decision of the UK to leave the EU, voted by Referendum in June, 2016, I have tasked officials in my Department and Agencies with making Brexit their number one priority. To support this effort I secured a 10% increase in capital funding allocated to my Department for 2017. I also secured €3m additional current funding to support the appointment of at least 50 additional staff to deal with Brexit including in my Department and Agencies.

In my Department this additional funding was used to establish a dedicated Brexit Unit with 5 additional staff to prepare for the forthcoming negotiations on Brexit. This Unit is headed up at Principal Officer level and leads on the coordination of my Department's policy responses to Brexit including our approach to the negotiations within the EU and bilateral relations with the UK. The work of the unit is supported by officials across all the Divisions of my Department and Agencies.

While no additional experts in trade agreements per se have been recruited in the Department, additional staff are being assigned to the Trade Policy area to support overall development of trade policy including approaches to be taken in future trade negotiations between the EU and a range of third countries including the UK.