50 new staff for state agencies for Brexit

The Department of Jobs is set to spend more than €3m to hire at least 50 extra staff to help State agencies cope with the escalating Brexit crisis.

Government officials confirmed the figures in a formal response to Labour TD Joan Burton alongside details on how other departments are attempting to react to the triggering of Article 50.

In a series of parliamentary questions in the Dáil in recent weeks, Ms Burton asked all departments how many existing staff are working to protect Ireland from a Brexit fallout and how many more have been hired in recent weeks.

The departments said almost 80 officials have formally been tasked with overseeing the reaction, with up to 50 more due to be appointed in a series of jobs-related State agencies.

According to the figures, the Department of Jobs has five people working on Brexit-related strategies, including a principal officer, assistant principal officer, a higher executive officer, a clerical officer and an official from the business unit.

However, due to the difficulties posed by the UK’s decision to leave the EU, the department is also seeking to hire at least 50 more staff for Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland, Science Foundation Ireland, the Health and Safety Authority and other State bodies to help cope.

The Department of Justice has also appointed 13 officers from the international policy division to co-ordinate Ireland’s Brexit response and provided weekly updates to Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald, while the Department of Finance has five officials working on Brexit protections and the Department of Foreign Affairs has 14.

A number of government departments, including the Department of Children and the Department of Education, have no official focused on Brexit.

However, the departments of Health, Agriculture and Transport are using existing staff, an issue that is likely to give rise to further criticism from opposition parties over the alleged lack of a clear strategy to protect Ireland from any negative consequences from Brexit.

The figures emerged as Ireland’s most senior Brexit official — Department of the Taoiseach second secretary general John Callinan — claimed the British government is slowing waking up to the fact Brexit is “an act of great self-harm” on their country.

In a media interview yesterday, Mr Callinan said the British government is only now realising the problems its own actions have caused itself, and that all of its efforts are now on “minimising” the damage.

“I see signs in the contacts that we’re having, both at EU level and with the UK, of a gradual realisation that Brexit in many ways is an act of great self-harm, and that the focus now is on minimising that self-harm,” he said.

Mr Callinan said the British government has “no single, settled position” on what to do now that it has triggered Article 50.