Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

She should acknowledge the extraordinary and formidable problems we have encountered in aviation, on the roads, at sea and in other areas, and the fact that so many of those issues have, to a large extent, been overcome. The date of 29 March is critical for us. We were facing some very serious challenges in the area of aviation. Those challenges have not been resolved, but they are certainly less threatening than they were. I will go into that in more detail in the second part of our discussion. We faced some very serious challenges on road haulage as well, and again, while not resolved, we have escaped the worse case scenario in that area. I hope that will also be the case in terms of landbridge and other areas. I am not saying that everything is conquered. I am saying that my Department has undertaken major work, and I am proud of the results we have achieved so far. The worst-case scenario we faced a few months ago is greatly improved. That was not achieved by sitting back and doing absolutely nothing. It involved much work and a lot of talking to many people. We spoke to the stakeholders and co-operated with the European Commission. We impressed on the European Commission, particularly in the areas of aviation and haulage, where we faced very difficult scenarios, that it was in Ireland's vital interests that we made interim arrangements. Those interim arrangements have been achieved.