Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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99. To ask the Minister for Finance if he has met with the Revenue Commissioners to discuss Brexit scenario planning since President Juncker's comments on same on 21 June 2018; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28550/18]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, and Chief EU Brexit Negotiator, Michel Barnier, visited Dublin on 21 June, this was an important opportunity for the Government and the Commission to take stock of state of play in the Brexit negotiations. President Juncker again emphasised that Ireland has the full backing of the EU and that Irish issues must be dealt with in the Withdrawal Agreement.

The European Union and the United Kingdom share the objective of avoiding a hard border on the island of Ireland. Concrete commitments with a view to achieving this objective were agreed and set out in the Joint Report on Progress in December 2017 and have since been transposed into legal terms in the draft Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, which is an integral part of the Withdrawal Agreement.  The EU has been clear that this is an essential element of the EU-UK withdrawal agreement and that negotiations can only progress as long as all commitments undertaken so far are respected in full.

The Revenue Commissioners are actively engaged in examining the range of scenarios that may apply post-Brexit and have ongoing communications with my Department on this and on other issues.