Estimates and Brexit engagement
Brendan Howlin asks when the Revised Book of Estimates and departmental Estimates will be published, and suggests an all-party approach to Brexit. The Taoiseach expects the Estimates within a fortnight and says cross-party engagement with Irish communities in Britain may be useful but must be handled carefully.
Before I call Deputy Brendan Howlin, I should apologise because, when the time came to deal with Leaders' Questions, there had not been adequate communication with his office on that matter.
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I appreciate that, a Cheann Comhairle. Thank you.
I wish to raise two matters, the first of which relates to the Revised Book of Estimates. After the announcement of the budget, the Revised Book of Estimates for 2016 was presented to the previous Dáil. Is there to be a further Revised Book of Estimates or will individual Estimates be prepared? Obviously, there must be a unified debate in the House on the overall Estimates. When will the Revised Book of Estimates, if there is to be one, be presented and when will we see the individual departmental Estimates?
My second question relates to Brexit and the worrying opinion poll findings yesterday that indicated that the margin between staying and leaving might be close. Given that this issue is of such importance to us, will the Taoiseach consider tabling an all-party motion next week in the House, one that would be signed not only by all of the parties but by all Deputies also, calling on Irish voters and those with Irish connections in the United Kingdom who have an entitlement to vote, as well as UK citizens living in this jurisdiction, to vote in favour of the United Kingdom remaining in the European Union and explaining in a debate how that would be in our strategic interests?
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Will there be a new Revised Book of Estimates?
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I think it is clear that an adjustment will have to be made to some of the original Estimates.
It is not a bad suggestion to have an all-party motion, but we would want to be careful in considering-----
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-----whether to do this and whether it would have an adverse impact. Clearly, people in Britain do not like to be lectured by anybody else, no more than we would. We have been very careful to say that because of our very close association with Britain for many reasons for many years, we have an interest in talking to our own people who live there. Last weekend I asked and encouraged them to make sure they registered to vote by 7 June and to vote to stay in on 23 June. I might just reflect on Deputy Brendan Howlin's offer. It is a suggestion which has merit, but I would not like to think others might take the view-----
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We would be talking to our own.
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----- that "Here is the Irish Parliament telling us what to do." The Deputy would be very free, as the leader of his party, no less than Deputy Micheál Martin would, to travel to Britain to talk to Irish communities. They can make such arrangements, but I am not sure whether it would be seen in an adverse way. It might not have the effect Deputy Brendan Howlin intended it to have for the right reasons.