Brexit continues to cast a cloud over political, economic and social developments in Great Britain, Ireland and throughout the entire European Union. Tonight's vote in Westminster is the latest instalment in a lengthening saga in which no coherent, concrete view on Brexit commanding a majority of British parliamentarians is emerging. The withdrawal treaty looks set to be defeated - although we do not know that for certain - plunging all of us into greater uncertainty and speculation in the days ahead. We cannot influence tonight's vote, if we are honest, but we can influence how prepared we are for any eventuality that may emerge, including, of course, a no-deal Brexit, by the end of March. It is my view that the Government has treated the Dáil and the public shabbily and badly when it has come to sharing its plans in the event of a no-deal Brexit. The Government should treat the Oireachtas and the public with greater respect in this regard.

Under pressure, the Government published a contingency plan on 19 December, the day on which the Dáil went into recess prior to Christmas. The document itself is light, lacking in detail and needs considerable fleshing out. It outlines up to 22 elements of primary legislation and more than 20 areas of secondary legislation that may be required. I hardly need to point out that there are only 25 sitting days in this House between now and 29 March, when all this legislation, in addition to other legislation, will be required to be passed if we end up with a no-deal Brexit scenario. We do not know much because the heads or outlines of the legislation have not even been published or circulated to Members of the Oireachtas. The contingency plan published in late December deals rather sketchily with a number of important areas such as medicine supplies, aviation, the land bridge, ports and airports, staffing, Revenue and agriculture. I have some specific questions for the Taoiseach on these areas. Do any of the changes required at our ports and airports as a consequence of Brexit require planning permission or legislative changes? If so, has planning permission, where necessary, been sought?

Is all relevant ICT infrastructure in place at our ports and airports, or will it be in place by 29 March in the event of a no-deal Brexit?

Approximately 240 medicines are listed as being in short supply, which is more than normal. Deputy Brassil has been diligent in bringing this information to me. Anecdotally, we have heard of the difficulty that all pharmacists are having with such a short supply of drugs. Will the Taoiseach indicate whether the Government is stockpiling key medicines, particularly those with a narrow therapeutic index which are not interchangeable in the event of a no-deal Brexit? Will he outline the medicine supply situation and how the Government intends to deal with the legislation that would be required in the event of a no-deal Brexit?

I welcome the Deputy back and wish him and his party a happy new year.

The withdrawal agreement is the only agreement on the table, and it has been supported by 28 Governments, including that of the United Kingdom. We will allow the democratic process to take its course in Westminster tonight, when the British Parliament will vote on the withdrawal agreement and four amendments. We will review the position tomorrow in consultation with our EU colleagues. At Cabinet earlier, we discussed preparation for a no-deal. I still believe a no-deal is unlikely but we must be prepared for it, or at least as prepared as any country can be. We discussed four memos which related to the common travel area, medicine supply, transport and, perhaps most important, the legislation that will be required. We are happy to share that legislation with the Opposition, and the Tánaiste has been in touch with spokespeople to organise briefings with the Opposition this afternoon. After we have briefed the Opposition, we will brief the media.

In response to the Deputy's questions on the ports and the airports, planning permission will not be required in most cases. What will be required, however, are parking areas and parking bays, and a certain amount of accommodation for staff. Where planning permission is needed, the Minister for Finance can use his powers to make directions to the Office of Public Works.

On medicines, a plan has been put in place and a working group, comprising representatives from the Department of Health, the HSE, the Health Products Regulatory Authority and the Food Safety Authority, has met every week for nearly two years. It has advised against stockpiling because it believes stockpiling may cause a break in supply, although it is working closely with the pharmaceutical industry and the main wholesalers to ensure an adequate supply. It has identified a watch-list of approximately 24 medicines about which we are most concerned. As the Deputy will know, between approximately 60% and 70% of medicines transit the UK or come from the UK. The watch-list has been developed, and those 24 medicines are the ones to which we must pay particular attention.

On legislation, we agreed we would put all the necessary legislation relating to Brexit into one large, omnibus Brexit Bill, with 17 different parts to it, that is, effectively 17 pieces of legislation in one, covering a number of different areas which I can outline in my follow-up reply. We are keen to consult and seek co-operation and engagement from the Opposition on getting this legislation through. We published our legislative programme earlier. Most of the time when a legislative programme is produced, there will be 20, 30 or 40 Bills, but there are only six on the priority list for this session in order that we can ensure we give all the time to the legislation that is needed in the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and the House.

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply and wish him a happy new year. I must report back to him from west Clare, west Cork and other parts of rural Ireland that very few wish the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, a happy new year, judging by what I picked up from travelling around.

The Taoiseach said he was happy to share information with the Dáil and that he was keen to consult. Dare I suggest to him that he has not been keen to consult the Oireachtas and that he has not been happy to share with the Dáil. It was under pressure that the contingency plan was published on 19 December.

What is the big secret? What is behind the reluctance to share basic information with people on a no-deal Brexit? It is important to be prepared and ready and that the public be likewise. For example, on 19 December, Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection about preparations on social welfare, social assistance and so on. The Minister said an analysis was ongoing within the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection. Is that analysis completed? This is very basic. One would have thought that an analysis of that kind would have been completed long ago. Can the Taoiseach indicate whether that analysis on social welfare is complete and whether it can be published to show what the potential implications would be?

The Deputy is way over his time. I call An Taoiseach.

I do not accept the Deputy's charge. The stakeholder group meets regularly and information is given to stakeholders. Any time Opposition spokespersons have asked for a briefing, they have been provided with one. We could not publish the contingency plan until the day we did so because we had to have the European Commission one first, and I explained that at the time.

The work on social security is completed so a draft international agreement between the UK and Ireland has been prepared by officials in the Minister, Deputy Regina Doherty's office and in Secretary of State Rudd's office and that will allow existing arrangements to continue. There are between 20,000 and 30,000 people in Ireland who get some of their pension from the UK social security provision. Before that treaty can be signed, we need to ratify the withdrawal agreement because the common travel area and everything associated with it is underlined in the withdrawal agreement. We could do it separately, bilaterally, but that is not the space we want to be in, ideally, when we have been negotiating multilaterally for so long.