Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

101. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his attention has been drawn to the fact that there is a recruitment process in place in Northern Ireland for 18 new customs officers; if he has discussed this with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland; if there are contingency plans in place to increase the recruitment of customs officers here; if so, the estimated number of custom officers required; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17546/18]

Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I am aware of the recruitment of UK Border Force officials, to which the Deputy refers.

There were specific concerns raised about the requirement for applicants to hold a British passport and whether this was in line with the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement which recognises the birthright of all the people of Northern Ireland to identify themselves or be accepted as Irish, or British, or both. These concerns were raised by my officials through the British Irish Intergovernmental Secretariat in Belfast. I am aware that the Northern Ireland Equality Commission had also intervened in the matter. I am pleased at the clarification that issued from the UK Home Office over the weekend indicating that this was an error and was being corrected.

The Government is continuing to work with the EU Taskforce and its EU27 partners with a view to achieving an orderly British withdrawal from the EU, including a transition period, as well as agreeing a framework for an ambitious future relationship with the UK. In this regard, a Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland is an integral part of the draft Withdrawal Agreement. It is drafted to give legal effect to the commitments and guarantees provided in the EU-UK Joint Report of last December on avoiding a hard border and protecting the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts, including North South cooperation and rights. It also reflects the agreement reached on maintaining the Common Travel Area.

In parallel, the Government’s wider contingency planning, coordinated by my Department, is also well advanced. Its focus is on the immediate regulatory and operational challenges which may be required in the context of Brexit. It assumes a trading relationship based on the default WTO rules, but also examines the possible effects on many other areas of concern. This work is therefore providing baseline scenarios for the impact of Brexit across all sectors, which can then be adapted as appropriate in light of developments in the EU-UK negotiations, including in regard to transition arrangements and the future relationship.