Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy will be aware, EU leaders met in Brussels on 10 April 2019 and agreed to an extension of the Article 50 process until 31 October 2019, following a request by Prime Minister May.  This extension includes giving the UK flexibility to leave before that date if the UK Parliament ratifies the Withdrawal Agreement.  

While the decision of the European Council has reduced the risk of a no deal Brexit, the ongoing political uncertainty in London means that the risk cannot be completely eliminated.   We will continue, therefore, to prepare for all scenarios and we will continue to encourage businesses and citizens to do the same.

Across the public service preparations for Brexit have been underway since even before the UK referendum on EU membership in 2016.  The Government’s Contingency Action Plan, published at the end of last year and updated at the end of January, sets out the comprehensive, cross-Government preparations for Brexit.  All Departments have sector-specific plans in place identifying key challenges associated with Brexit and associated mitigation approaches.  We have also taken important steps to prepare our economy, including the Action Plan for Jobs 2018, our Trade and Investment Strategy and Project Ireland 2040, while dedicated measures to prepare for Brexit were announced in Budgets 2017, 2018 and 2019.

Significant reforms have been made to the work of the public service in recent years.  Our Public Service 2020, which became operational during 2018, is a new policy framework designed to build on these previous reforms while expanding the scope of reform to focus more on collaboration, innovation and evaluation.  A Public Service Leadership Board comprising Secretary General and CEO level participants from across the civil and public service has been established to drive the new reform agenda and lead on its implementation and it has already met on five occasions.  This approach will support and enable public servants and their organisations to perform at their best and to work together to deliver high-quality, value-for-money outcomes that will benefit the economy and meet the many challenges we face, including Brexit.