Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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137. To ask the Minister for Finance whether his or his officials' attention have been drawn to the fact the Revenue Commissioners are still working on the implications of a border on trade and customs in Ireland post-Brexit. [43865/17]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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138. To ask the Minister for Finance if the Revenue Commissioners' report on customs that was commenced in 2015 was a rolling report; when his Department was informed of its contents; and when this information ceased. [43866/17]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 137 and 138 together.

I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the above mentioned report is now available on their website at www.revenue.ie

The published draft was an internal working paper and a preliminary analysis which was compiled in September 2016, following the UK vote in June 2016 to exit the EU. It is clear that such working papers are necessary to support the deliberative process.

However, it is important to note that matters have moved on significantly since September 2016 and in particular since Article 50 was triggered in March 2017. As such, I note that this document remains in draft format and was not finalised as it was overtaken by consequent major developments and policy statements. I am informed that it does not reflect Revenue’s current view on Brexit.

Like all Government agencies, the Revenue Commissioners are actively engaged in examining a range of scenarios in order to support Ireland's objectives. This work is being undertaken within the whole-of-Government framework previously coordinated by the Department of the Taoiseach and now led by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The precise customs arrangements that will apply after Brexit will depend on the outcome of negotiations between the EU and UK however it is clear that political solutions must be found before technical resolutions can be applied.

The Government’s priorities in relation to the unique concerns that arise for Ireland in the context of Brexit are very clear - to maintain the Common Travel Area and to protect the gains of the peace process and the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts, including avoiding a hard border.

Evidently the closest trading relationship between the UK and EU is best for Ireland. The Taoiseach has reiterated this position on many occasions, most recently in the Dáil last week.

The Government welcomes that these priorities have been reflected in the EU’s negotiating position and further welcomes and supports the Taskforce’s paper on the “Guiding Principles for the dialogue on Ireland/Northern Ireland”, which was published on 7 September. The paper builds on the European Council Guidelines and reflects the priority Irish issues identified by the Government, including that, in view of the unique circumstances on the island of Ireland, flexible and imaginative solutions will be required to avoid a hard border, including any physical border infrastructure. This must be achieved in a way which ensures that Ireland's place within the Internal Market and Customs Union is unaffected. The paper also makes it clear that it is the UK’s responsibility to propose workable solutions in this regard. It is the Government’s view that the UK staying in the customs union and single market, or as close as possible to that, would be the best solution.

However, it is important that internal analysis continues in the meantime. Several helpful reports and working papers have been published by the ESRI, Intertrade Ireland, and business representative bodies. Most recently, my Department and Revenue co-sponsored an ESRI study, ESRI Working Paper 573 on Ireland’s Trade and Transport Connections, which was published on Thursday 12 October 2017.