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Brexit Preparations

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 November 2020

Thursday, 12 November 2020

Questions (149, 150)

Bernard Durkan

Question:

149. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Transport the degree to which he has had ongoing discussions with the transport sector with a view to providing ready and accessible transport routes to Europe to facilitate the Irish import-export sector post Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36093/20]

View answer

Bernard Durkan

Question:

150. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Transport the degree to which he remains satisfied with the ability of sea and air transport sectors here to deliver to Irish customers ready and unimpeded access to mainland Europe at a competitive cost regardless of Brexit negotiations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36094/20]

View answer

Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 149 and 150 together.

Both I and Minister of State Naughton have met with representatives of the freight, logistics and ferry companies in relation to Brexit and including the matter of access to EU markets. My Department is also in regular contact with these organisations on these matters.

Regardless of the outcome of the EU-UK negotiations, the end of the transition period will see the UK no longer applying the rules of the EU’s Single Market and Customs Union. This will have immediate implications for trade flows, particularly to UK markets but also to wider EU markets via the UK Landbridge.

Maintaining transport connectivity to support the movement of goods into and out of Ireland has remained a primary objective of Government during the current crisis, and this will continue to be the case as we near the end of the Brexit transition period.

The UK landbridge is an important means of access to the single market for Irish exporters and importers, one that is favoured by traders in high value or time sensitive goods because it offers significantly faster transit times than alternative routes. As such we continue to work positively with our EU partners on addressing challenges in EU ports for traffic using the landbridge. However, the Government has pointed out for some time now including in our 2019 and 2020 readiness plans that there will likely be delays at ports immediately after the end of the transition period, with Dover-Calais identified as a particular likely bottleneck. This is outside of our control.

That being said, the process for moving goods by direct ferry routes between Ireland and other EU Member States will not be subject to the new procedures and controls as this trade stays within the Single Market.

Following a request from my Department, the Irish Maritime Development Office (IMDO) last week published a report that reassesses Ireland’s Maritime Connectivity, and builds on and updates previous work carried out by the IMDO by updating the 2018 Landbridge Study. This report concludes that there is more than sufficient capacity on existing services in the RoRo network between Ireland and mainland Europe to cater, if required, for the landbridge traffic currently estimated at around 150,000 trucks per annum.

For this reason the Government is advocating engagement between traders, hauliers and ferry companies to align capacity with needs and I would encourage traders, where it is feasible to do so, to avoid the risk of disruption by moving to direct services now and not wait until after 1 January 2021. In support of this, my Department together with the IMDO have launched a communications campaign which encourages businesses currently moving goods to Continental Europe through the UK to ACT now - ASSESS their supply chain, COMMUNICATE their needs to their logistic or shipping company and TRIAL the direct shipping options in order to keep their business moving.

As regards air freight, the air cargo sector is fully liberalised and airlines are free to operate on a commercial basis in response to market developments internationally. Officials from my Department continue to engage on a regular basis with airlines, other aviation stakeholders, and with the European Commission on efforts to maintain essential supply lines, and other related issues.

It is not anticipated that the changed regulatory regime for aviation between the EU and the UK will have any direct impact on the movement of freight by air.

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