Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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161. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the development of sectorial response plans to Brexit; the publication date of these plans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33337/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Following on from publication of the document setting out the Government's approach to the Brexit negotiations, work is underway across departments to prepare adaptive Sectoral Brexit Response Plans to mitigate emerging sectoral challenges. These plans will build on ongoing cross-Government research, analysis and consultations with stakeholders, and will encompass the following themes:

- Sustainable fiscal policies to ensure capacity to absorb and respond to economic shocks, not least from Brexit;

- Policies to make Irish enterprise more diverse and resilient, to diversify trade and investment patterns, and to strengthen competitiveness;

- Prioritising policy measures and dedicating resources to protect jobs and businesses in the sectors and regions most affected by Brexit;

- Realising economic opportunities arising from Brexit, and helping businesses adjust to any new logistical or trade barriers arising;

- Making a strong case at EU level that Ireland will require support that recognises where Brexit represents a serious disturbance to the Irish economy.

Adopting a proactive approach from the start, the Irish Government has been comprehensively preparing for this very eventuality. The contingency framework that the Government put in place maps the key issues that will be most important to Ireland in the coming weeks and months. My own Department contributed fully to the preparation of the education components of that framework.

It is my priority to continue to engage actively on a number of fronts in dealing with the impact of Brexit on the Education sector. Consultation has been fundamental to my Department’s preparations for Brexit. We have consulted extensively with our stakeholders. Between December and January both I and Minister of State Halligan have led consultations with stakeholders from right across the higher education, further education and training; and primary and post-primary education sectors. More recently, on the 3rd July 2017, the Tánaiste, and Minister for Enterprise and Innovation Frances Fitzgerald TD, and I co-hosted a joint stakeholder dialogue on enterprise skills needs and Brexit.

Among the key issues identified in these consultations are Brexit's likely impact on the future of the Common Travel Area and its implications for students, teachers, academic staff and researchers; mutual recognition of qualifications; our enterprise skills base; UK/Ireland research collaboration and partnerships between education institutions and enterprise; as well as the implications for EU funding for research and the impact on EU funding programmes such as Horizon2020, PEACE IV and Erasmus+.

All of these issues will be factored in to my Department’s overall approach to future discussions and negotiations and our input to Government's preparations for EU-UK negotiations including the finalisation of our sectoral response plan. Both I and my Department will continue to consult with the sector interests as necessary through the period ahead.

All of this work is ongoing and must also respond to the emerging developments in the Brexit negotiations.