Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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460. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment the preparations made in his Department in the event of no agreement being reached between the United Kingdom and the European Union on the terms of the UK's exit from the EU; if such preparations involve the drawing up of detailed and specific contingency plans in the event of a hard Brexit and a trade regime based on WTO tariffs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48772/17]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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As Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade with special responsibility for Brexit, Minister Coveney has responsibility for coordinating the whole-of-Government response to Brexit. In this capacity, he is working closely with his colleagues across Government to address the many challenges resulting from Brexit. This cooperation also involves the relevant State Agencies. Work at Cabinet level is being prepared through cross-Departmental coordination structures. These represent a frequent and active channel through which all relevant Departments are providing their research, analysis and overall policy input to the Government’s wider response to Brexit, including its priorities for the ongoing Article 50 negotiations between the EU and the UK.

As the outcome of the negotiations is not yet known, an important focus of the planning and preparation being undertaken through these structures is on deepening the Government’s analysis and understanding of the exact consequences of a range of different possible scenarios. This represents an intensification of efforts to build on the Government‘s contingency planning.

As Minister for Communications, Climate Action, & Environment, my Department covers a wide portfolio. Senior officials in relevant divisions of my Department prepared a paper outlining potential Brexit main impacts, with recommendations, to provide a comprehensive overview of sectoral issues faced within the Department. The Department is working closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs and other Government Departments to develop Ireland’s wider response to the challenges and opportunities posed by Brexit. Senior officials from the Department are also engaged with the TF50 EU negotiating team in Brussels in mapping out particular North/South issues as part of the signalled preparations for future trade discussions.

Potential impact on any sector will depend largely on the shape of the future relationship between the EU and UK. EU/UK negotiations have not yet commenced discussion of future trade issues. It is therefore not possible to provide a detailed assessment.

My Department has convened two Civic Dialogues this year focusing on Energy. The objective of these events is to gather input from energy stakeholders including citizens and industry regarding the potential impact of Brexit. This input is taken into consideration by the Department in its Brexit related activities and planning.