The Government today received a further update on whole-of-Government contingency preparations for a no deal Brexit scenario. The Tánaiste briefed on intensive work that has taken place across Departments and Agencies to take further steps to implement the Contingency Action Plan published in December.

While ratification of the Withdrawal Agreement remains the Government’s preferred outcome, the Government is continuing to prepare for a no deal scenario. It will be impossible to fully mitigate for a no deal Brexit scenario; our preparation work is an exercise in damage limitation. A no deal Brexit would have profound impacts for Ireland.

As part of a detailed discussion, some key areas were underlined:

• Omnibus Brexit Bill
• Common Travel Area
• economic impact of Brexit
• ports and airports

Source: DFA.