Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Of course. I just I wanted to find the person in the room who wrote the briefing document. I ask for details on the plans and contingency measures. Could those details be sent on to the committee, including for example, minutes of meetings, emails and so on. I ask Mr. Burke to answer that question and to indicate whether all of that information can be furnished to us.

On the issue of infrastructure and controls at ports and airports, we know that the British Irish Chamber of Commerce has identified that the ports at Cork and Rosslare will need additional builds for agricultural checks. Given that we are already aware of that need, how much has been allocated to ports over and above what was estimated in the budget? Will an additional allocation be made in the event of a no-deal Brexit? It is my understanding that the last budget was based on a deal being signed. What extra resources does the Minister intend to bring to the table in the event of a no-deal scenario? If he is not providing additional funding, cuts will have to be made elsewhere. If that is the case, I ask him to outline where those cuts will be made.

I wish to comment on page 4 of the briefing. The Minister's preliminary assessment is that sufficient capacity will be available on direct routes to continental ports from the end of March 2019. Deputy Troy touched on that. Is that based on conversations? What exactly is that based on? The Minister gave the figure for trucks using the landbridge. What percentage of trucks would use the landbridge going through to Dover? What percentage of trucks would use the direct route to Europe? Let us suppose, for example, that anywhere from 75% of truck operators use the landbridge and those operators are not prepared to sit in 17-mile tailbacks. They may have perishable goods or they may have to transport factory parts and get to their destination as soon as possible. If they are not prepared to sit in 17-mile tailbacks and decide to go through Irish ports directly, will there be sufficient capacity at Irish ports? Is the Minister saying there will be no need? I imagine we would have to lease ships. Is the Minister saying there is sufficient capacity and there will be no need to lease ships to deal with the capacity? Has the Minister or the Department looked at the cost of leasing a particular ship to deal with this? I am keen to find out the cost of that and the predicted numbers in the Minister's plan needed to cater for that. Is that capacity in place? This comes back to my first question about preparation measures and contingency plans. Can we see all of that? Can we see how all the plans fall into place?

My other point relates to international road haulage. I read about the European Commission announcement on 19 December of a proposal to temporarily adopt measures for a nine-month period from 29 March to allow access for UK hauliers to the EU to ensure basic road connectivity. Is this regardless of a no-deal Brexit or is it part of the overall deal, as such? I am curious about that. If there is a no-deal Brexit and this does not stand, what is our plan? Where is our plan?