Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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481. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine 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 in 2017; the anticipated cost; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31266/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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Following the UK referendum in June 2016, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine established a dedicated Brexit Unit within its EU and International Trade Division. This Unit now forms part of a newly-formed Brexit and International Trade Division and reports to a full-time Head of Division at Principal Officer level, who in turn reports to an Assistant Secretary General deeply engaged in Brexit issues.

The Unit co-ordinates the on-going analysis, consultation and engagement activities being undertaken by a large number of administrative, technical and veterinary staff, through an internal Brexit Response Committee comprised of 16 people drawn from the wide range of Divisions affected by Brexit (including, for example, Meat and Milk Policy, Animal Health and Welfare, Food Industry Development, Economics and Planning, and Seafood Policy and Development). It also feeds into the whole-of-Government co-ordination being undertaken by the Department of the Taoiseach.

The staff and administrative costs associated with the activities of the unit are paid from the Department’s Administrative Budget as required.

My Department will continue to assess resource requirements on an ongoing basis as the Brexit process evolves. However the reality is that the co-ordination of responses to Brexit involves a significant number of staff across a range of divisions dealing with sectors and issues potentially impacted by Brexit.