Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I acknowledge the good work that has been done by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport to address some of the major challenges we are expecting at the end of March, particularly as regards connectivity for our airlines. While the Minister acknowledged that it was not resolved there is, at least, a temporary arrangement that will ensure our airlines continue to fly.

I recently asked a parliamentary question relating to the TEN-T network. With the UK leaving the EU, the network needs to be changed. It is down for review in 2023 and the Minister replied to my question to the effect that he was liaising with the Commission. Can he provide a further update on this matter? It is very important from the point of view of maintaining connectivity within the EU. I will not labour the point about green cards because the matter has already been discussed. He said we were still awaiting a decision. Is there any timeframe regarding when the decision will be made? What is the processing time for the issuance of a green card? If a decision is made that a card is necessary, is there any fear that we will not be able to process them in time for the people who rely on it?

We received COM (2018) 893 today. What consequences will it have for the aviation sector in Ireland? We acknowledge that connectivity is going to be maintained under the transitional arrangements that have been agreed but my understanding is that these arrangements will not allow any further growth. Can the Minister confirm that is the case? If so, what effect will it have on Aer Lingus and IAG, which plan to expand business between Ireland and North America with Dublin as an international hub? There is no mention in the Minister's statement of the application for maintenance certificates issued under EU law by the European Aviation Safety Agency, EASA. Will Irish firms which conduct maintenance, such as Eirtech, Dublin Aerospace, etc., continue to be able to provide certificates or are we in danger of losing business to Singapore or non-EU eastern European countries which are already competing with us for that business? Irish cargo operators such as ASL have major European and UK cargo distribution contracts. Will the Minister confirm that, under the transitional arrangements, they will not be able to take on any additional work? There is a cap in place on the amount of cargo they can carry to the UK and I am concerned as to the impact that may have on the pharmaceutical industry, which needs distribution capacity to be able to transport what is very sensitive merchandise.

My next question concerns the effects on the road haulage industry and on our ports.

The Minister mentioned that the OPW has been tasked with delivering the required facilities at our ports. I visited Dublin Port recently and, to be fair, the work that must be done to adapt to the new requirements is well under way. Is the Minister satisfied that the infrastructural changes that are required will be in place in time? I have submitted repeated parliamentary questions about the number of officials required but the Minister always refers them to another Department. While the recruitment of officials may not come under the Minister's remit, is he satisfied, from his engagement with Government colleagues, that the necessary number of officials will be in place?

In response to parliamentary questions on the haulage industry, and specifically on capacity in the ferry and shipping sector, the Minister stated that his Department has been meeting ferry and shipping companies to discuss their plans to deal with Brexit. He also stated that he is quite confident that they are going to be able to respond appropriately should the need arise. What shipping companies is the Department in consultation with and from where exactly will the additional capacity come? It is my understanding that currently, between Dublin and Rosslare, there is capacity for 750 lorries per week to be transported to mainland Europe. However, from Dublin Port alone, 1,000 lorries use the landbridge every day. If the landbridge becomes problematic and there are large tailbacks meaning that the people who need to get their produce to mainland Europe can no longer use it, from where will the additional capacity come? As stated, approximately 1,000 trucks per day leave Dublin Port for the UK. If 80% of those are using the UK as a landbridge and travelling on to mainland Europe, where are we going to make up the gap in terms of capacity? I wish to know with whom the Department has engaged. I ask the Minister to commit to ensuring that Rosslare Europort will be utilised to the maximum extent possible and that we will have competition within that port to ensure that hauliers who rely on it in order to get to mainland Europe will have options available to them at the end of March.

The British Government has advised that it will not have transit offices established at its ports for at least six months after Brexit. Irish operators must travel under the common transit convention, CTC, in order to get access to continental Europe while avoiding import/export procedures. This programme is reliant on tracking when and where the load enters and exits a third country en routebetween member states. If the UK does not have transit offices set up, how is France preparing to accept Irish loads using the landbridge? I ask the Minister to outline the contingency plan in this regard and to confirm whether the CTC is workable if the UK does not have established transit offices.

The Minister stated that there has been a lot of stakeholder engagement with the Department in recent months. Such engagement is critical in terms of developing effective contingency plans. What meetings have taken place? Has his Department met the Revenue Commissioners, An Garda Síochána, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, representative bodies including the Irish Road Haulage Association and the Freight Transport Association, as well as importers and exporters? All of these are key in terms of outlining Brexit related concerns and challenges and how they can be addressed.

If there is a no-deal Brexit on 30 March, is the Minister confident that we will be able to carry out the regulatory checks on goods entering and leaving Ireland that will be required? Will we have sufficient staff in place? I do not think so, based on replies to parliamentary questions that I have received thus far and in that context, has there been any engagement on agreeing a transition arrangement for regulatory checks? Will the EU allow a period of months during which we can bring our staffing levels up to those required in order to carry out all of the necessary checks? If it is a hard, fall-off-the-cliff Brexit on 30 March, we will not have the key personnel in place to carry out the required regulatory checks.