Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
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263. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of information officers available in her Department to deal with Brexit queries form the general public and members of the Houses of the Oireachtas; if her Department will consider appointing such information officers (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8383/18]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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While my Department does not have designated information officers to deal specifically with Brexit queries, I am satisfied that there are existing supports available for dealing with queries submitted from the general public and members of the Houses of the Oireachtas. In this regard, my Department is committed to maintaining and improving its commitment to, and delivery of, the highest standards of quality customer service across its full remit.

The Press Office deals with all queries from the media. This office also informs the public via the media and social media about all policies, functions and activities of the Department.

My Office and the Offices of the Ministers of State, act in a liaison capacity between sections within the Department, and with other Government Departments and relevant public bodies, to provide information to the general public and members of the Houses of the Oireachtas.

Individuals can also contact the Department about any of it's activities at info@dbei.gov.ie.

Given the wide mission my Department has, the UK’s decision to leave the European Union continues to impact significantly on all Divisions across my Department as well as our family of Agencies. In this context, officers across all policy areas may deal with Brexit related queries depending on the nature of the query.

To coordinate and represent the Departmental and Agencies response to Brexit and to support me in my position at the Cabinet Committee dealing with Brexit, a dedicated Brexit Unit was established in my Department in 2016. This Unit is led at Assistant Secretary level within the EU Affairs and Trade Policy Division. The Assistant Secretary is supported by a staff compliment of seven (one Principal Officer, three Assistant Principal Officers, two Higher Executive Officers and one Clerical Officer). The Unit also leads on engagement with a broad range of stakeholders to inform and validate our response to Brexit.

Staff expertise has also been drawn from across a number of different policy areas and they have been assigned to additional postings across the whole Department that have been most impacted by Brexit.

We are continually prioritising the Brexit challenges and will actively keep the staffing requirements under review through workforce planning. We will also continue to invest in our staff to ensure service delivery and quality customer services.