Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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241. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the extent to which the potential outcomes in respect of Brexit continue to include the role of his Department as a means of ensuring the best possible performance in any situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17446/20]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Ireland continues to support the closest possible future relationship between the EU and the UK. Nevertheless we recognise that, regardless of the outcome of the negotiations on the future relationship, the UK will leave the Single Market and the Customs Union on 1 January 2021. This will have significant implications for us.

We have been preparing for Brexit since before the UK referendum in 2016. While much of this work is already in place following previous no-deal preparations, the transition period has allowed us to refine and further develop this work.

Within my Department Brexit issues are coordinated by a dedicated Unit dealing with EU and Brexit issues, with an attaché based in Ireland's Permanent Representation in Brussels. The Unit leads on EU work across the Department and its agencies, and represents the Department on the various groups that coordinate the Government's response to Brexit.

Following the UK’s departure from the EU, and with attention now on the future relationship negotiations and the expiry of the transition period at the end of the year, the Department’s priorities for Brexit are: readiness for the conclusion of the transition period, including overseeing preparations at the ports and airports; implementation of aspects of the Withdrawal Agreement and Protocol; addressing certain policy areas that will be impacted by the negotiations, e.g. public procurement, EU funding and the new post-Brexit PEACE PLUS programme; and the ongoing public expenditure implications of Brexit response measures.