Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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546. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development 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. [48783/17]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade has special responsibility for Brexit and for coordinating a whole-of-Government response to Brexit.  In this capacity, the Minister 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 Government level is being prepared through cross-Departmental co-ordination 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 cross-Departmental structures is on deepening the Government’s analysis and understanding of the potential consequences of different possible scenarios. My Department will engage in, and contribute to, this analysis.