Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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492. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine further to Parliamentary Question No. 2003 of 24 July 2018, the status of his Department's work on the preparation of a detailed fully costed action plan to facilitate potentially increased sanitary and phytosanitary controls, including staffing and upgrading infrastructure at ports and airports; and the cost estimate forecasts to date in this regard. [39939/18]

Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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493. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the number of veterinary officers and inspectors recruited since the Brexit referendum in June 2016, by new staff hires and replacement staff in this area, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39941/18]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 492 and 493 together.

My Department is working with other Departments, through whole-of-Government coordination structures, on preparedness actions in relation to Brexit, in line with the Government Decision of 18 July. From an agri-food perspective this includes implementation of the steps necessary to facilitate potentially greatly increased Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) controls, which in turn will require staffing, infrastructural and IT requirements to be addressed at ports and airports.

My Department’s most immediate Brexit planning relates to the phased recruitment of staff for SPS and fisheries controls up to 2021, and the implementation of Phase One of the staffing project that is anticipated for 2019. The latter involves the recruitment of additional staff for SPS and fisheries controls, as agreed by Government on 18 September. The necessary arrangements to commence this recruitment process are currently being put in place.

The Department is also feeding intensively into the wider ongoing process around the infrastructural requirements at ports and airports, and will continue to liaise closely with the Office of Public Works, in particular, in this regard.

The following table shows the number of Veterinary recruitments in my Department since June 23rd 2016: