This is the last Leaders' Questions of 2018 so I express my thanks to the Taoiseach, the leaders of the parties and all Members for their co-operation throughout the year and the courtesy they have shown to everyone who has occupied this chair. I thank Mr. Peter Finnegan and the staff of the Houses right across the service as they look after all of us very well and are unfailing in their support of us. I thank the press corps for being assiduous, keeping an eye on us and holding us to account. I wish everybody a happy and blessed Christmas. I ask people to enjoy the time with family and friends. I hope people take the time to recharge the batteries as all the indications are that we will back in January facing pretty momentous challenges that will have to be addressed.

On my behalf and behalf of my party, I thank the Ceann Comhairle for his forbearance, generosity of spirit and indulgence of our good selves, the Members of the House, and for his fairness at all times throughout the year. I wish you and your family a very well-deserved break. I wish the same to all Members in the House, as well as to the staff of the House, including Mr. Peter Finnegan, his team and all the ushers, who make life so agreeable to us all. We genuinely thank them. We thank members of the media as well for their very fair and rigorous scrutiny of Dáil proceedings. They keep us on our toes at all times. We had a very agreeable evening last night on this side of the House with members of the press corps. It all augurs very well for 2019. I wish everybody concerned a very happy Christmas and a good break over the holidays.

Having said that, and while wishing the Taoiseach a happy Christmas, it is the end of the pleasantries. It is with some regret that I must state that the Taoiseach is treating the Dáil in a very shabby and dismissive manner when it comes to Brexit preparedness. What has happened this week and in the weeks prior to this is simply not good enough. The Taoiseach has acknowledged that potentially up to 45 pieces of legislation could be required in the event of a hard Brexit, including some statutory instruments, regulations and primary legislation. Deputy Howlin yesterday asked a reasonable question on the Order of Business when he inquired when a comprehensive briefing would be provided to the Dáil on this legislative proposition. The reply was basically that a Member could turn up tomorrow at the stakeholders' forum if he or she wants to find out more. Since when has the stakeholders' forum take precedence over Dáil Éireann in matters of legislation? The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade reiterated the point in his newspaper article this morning by stating the stakeholders' forum "would be the first to know".

Deputy Lisa Chambers asked a very legitimate question yesterday on infrastructure, port facilities and airports etc. and the impact on those from Brexit in general. These are precise and reasonable questions but she was told the Office of Public Works had been in extensive discussions with various Departments and almost everybody else but at the end there was a dismissive line, as it was argued it would be premature to release any details. Why is that? On 20 November, Deputy Chambers asked a basic question of the Minister for Justice and Equality concerning any potential legislative changes arising from Brexit. In fairness to the Department and the Minister, his reply would have been applauded by Sir Humphrey in that great television series, "Yes, Minister", as it was a comprehensive answer that did not answer anything. It simply indicated that there was ongoing analysis but there would be no revelations.

There are only 29 scheduled sitting days between our return and 29 March. Journalists were told last weekend that the Cabinet would be updated on Brexit preparedness and the Taoiseach has indicated there will be a package of measures revealed tomorrow, with legislators welcome to attend the public forum and put up their hands to ask questions on these matters. Why is the Government not willing to inform the Dáil in a timely manner about all of this? Surely detailed briefing papers concerning the legislative measures should be published and presented to the House. Will the Government publish the details of the legislative requirements in the event of a hard Brexit today and present them to the House? Will it publish updated budget projections taking into account a hard Brexit? Will the Taoiseach provided updated and transparent answers on the requirements concerning port and airport infrastructure to the House? Will he send papers on all those points to the leaders of the political parties before the end of the session today?

I join the Ceann Comhairle and the Leader of the Opposition and take this opportunity to wish all Members of the Dáil and Seanad a very happy and peaceful Christmas. In particular I thank those who work here, including all the staff in the Oireachtas and members of the press corps, without whom we could not do our work. Their professionalism makes it a pleasure to come here every week.

The Government could not spin without them.

I would like to spare a moment to think of those who are no longer with us, including those who passed away in the year gone by and those who have retired. We are thinking of them today. I hope that everybody over the break will have the opportunity to spend time with families, friends and those who are dear to them. Perhaps Members will rediscover their constituencies, and I look forward to doing that myself. A new year always brings new challenges and I look forward to being back here in January. I wish everyone a very happy Christmas.

It is reasonable to say - it is an absolutely correct statement - that Brexit is a major threat for Ireland. It is a potential major threat to our economy and our rights and freedoms as citizens. It could of course have major implications for peace and security on our island. Preparing for Brexit is a work in progress; it is a work in progress this week and it will still be a work in progress in January. It is appropriate to allow the European Commission to produce its notices today, as it will, and anything we do must follow what is done by the European Commission and European law. Later today the European Commission will publish a series of notices regarding plans for a no-deal scenario and this evening the Cabinet will be given a copy of a document on our plans, essentially, following from that.

Tomorrow there will be a briefing with Brexit stakeholders and Opposition parties. I have briefly spoken with the Tánaiste and we have no difficulty organising this in any way people feel appropriate. We can deal with spokespersons first and stakeholders second or whatever people feel is appropriate. It has been the case all the way through that briefings have been available to spokespersons whenever they have asked for them. That will not change now. Further information will be produced in mid January. We should bear in mind that Commission seminars continue all the way through January and further information will be provided as this is a work in progress.

Our major and overriding objective is to ensure we do not end up with a no-deal scenario. That is why we are continuing to work with European partners to secure the ratification of the withdrawal agreement both by the European Parliament and by Westminster. I understand a vote will happen in Westminster in perhaps the second or third week of January. This is a work in progress and a dynamic matter. We are very happy to update spokespersons tomorrow and we will update the stakeholder group as we always do. As I have stated, the Commission documents will be out today and we will have a document this evening. We propose to publish it tomorrow and we are of course happy to share it with spokespersons and the stakeholders' group in the morning.

The Deputy asked about the budget and it stands. The budget was written with Brexit in mind and it was written to be Brexit-proofed. We do not have the final or end-of-year figures yet for this year but it may well turn out that we will record a budget surplus this year, which is ahead of schedule.

That will have the knock-on effect of having a slightly larger surplus next year that we projected on budget day. The budget is, therefore, balanced and, in fact, it might be better than that. It could be in surplus. We have established the rainy day fund and provided in the budget for a 25% increase in spending on infrastructure, including transport, energy and housing, all those areas where it is so important we make sure we are Brexit-proof. It is not intended that we would need to revisit the budget or introduce a mini-budget or anything like that in 2019.