Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I think it is a fair question. Mr. Roche identified the rule of origin issue as one of the four main issues. We have addressed it at a previous meeting and we know it is an issue. I am not referring to the specific example given by Mr. Roche but it has come up at other meetings. It came up in respect of flour because we import so much flour.

It is having an impact in a very practical way on Irish citizens and other people living here, as well as on companies such as Mr. Roche's business. I do not know the answer to that problem. To be frank, I hope it is not a case of just making things difficult for the UK distributor. It is something that can be worked out. The rule of origin issue is certainly one with which we will deal in our report because it is impacting in so many ways that were unforeseen before we hit a hard Brexit, as Mr. McDonnell put it, and had basically no time for this to bed in. In some ways, it feels like we have been doing this for quite some time but, as he stated, we are less than three months into this. This is the bedding-in time and these are teething problems. It will take time to adjust but these are the kinds of practical issues we need to and can resolve. These are the very practical trade issues that we should be able to fix, rather than the ideological arguments around Northern Ireland, the protocol and all that stuff

An issue that has come up at several meetings of the committee is the lack of conversation or interaction between the HSE, Revenue and the Department of Agriculture and the Marine. They need to start working together at ports for the benefit of the haulage industry, importers and exporters because people are basically being given the runaround and sent from pillar to post. The system has not been properly set up to cater for having to pass through the various checks and the additional administration work involved. The committee is getting the message loud and clear around the need to get the paperwork, administration work and processing time in order. All of that needs to become more streamlined and business focused to try to get as close as possible to what we had previously. It will never be exactly the same but, utilising technology and putting our heads together, we should be able to get relatively close to where we were.

I refer to the issue raised by Mr. Roche around not being able to import goods for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in the same consignment. That is just ludicrous. The goods are coming onto the same island. Surely we can find a technological solution to that issue rather than making things difficult. That issue might have had an impact in terms of the empty shelves in Northern Ireland which have created further political problems. Everything has a domino or knock-on effect. These little things become big problems when they annoy the average punter and that is what we must try to sort out.

What are the views of the representatives of InterTradeIreland and ISME on the unilateral extension of the grace period within the Northern Ireland protocol by the British Government? I take it that the business community is probably okay with it. The committee has discussed the impact of those checks coming in on 1 July and what that would have done. I suppose that has been kicked down the road a small bit now. How are businesses dealing with that? What are the views of the witnesses on the extension? How prepared do they think businesses are prepared for the extra checks that will be coming in at some point?

Some of our guests touched on the issue of the drop-off in trade. Figures compiled by the CSO indicate the drop-off in trade between Ireland and Great Britain. Imports from Great Britain are down by almost half if one compares January 2021 with January 2020. Part of that may result from Christmas stockpiling as well as the stockpiling in advance of the new customs regulations coming in, as was pointed out. What are the views of the witnesses in that regard? Exports to Great Britain are down by 14%. That figure is of significant concern to me because it represents Irish producers and businesses not getting as much of their product to a big market as they did previously. How much of that drop-off will persist in the long term, once we get over the Christmas stockpiling and the stockpiling in advance of the changes to the customs regulations and paperwork? What will be the longer-term impact of that change in trade between the two islands and markets?

I refer to the current Government supports. Mr. Nelson touched on the supports InterTradeIreland is providing for businesses. Do the representatives of InterTradeIreland and ISME believe adjustments are needed to the current Government supports for businesses? Are the supports still fit for purpose? Are they working for our guests' clients? Now that we have had the benefit of three months in this new trading environment, is there anything the committee needs to include in its report with regard to adjusting those supports or adding additional supports?

I refer to the land bridge and trade going through the UK. This may be more an issue for Mr. Roche. How is the land bridge working in terms of getting in and out of UK ports? Is there more demand now for going direct to mainland Europe?

Is there enough there to meet that demand or are our guests finding shortfalls? What is the view of their customers in terms of getting their products to and from mainland Europe and the options available to them now?