Mr. Glenn Carr:

The temporary border inspection post which is being acquired, and will be ready for 31 October, deals primarily with the clearance of imports into the country. If the UK leaves it will be a third country. We should bear in mind that we already trade with third countries. There is nothing new in the documentation; it is just the scale and amount of documentation that will present the challenge. One of the real advantages that we see for Rosslare it that our facility is just outside the port. That means we are in a position to discharge from the berths. For those who are red or green, in the event of a no-deal scenario, the red will present to the border inspection facility, which is outside the port. For those coming into the port, it is critically important that everyone has his or her paperwork in order. Post Brexit they will require a movement reference number, MRN, to book or travel on a ferry. The onus is on the transporter to ensure that the MRN is in order. One would not arrive at an airport without a passport and nor should one arrive at a port without the MRN documentation in place. To keep the ports moving and keep traffic moving, we will not allow trucks to enter the port without their MRN number in place. This has been widely communicated. The documentation can be uploaded quite well in advance. It is worth bearing in mind that in Rosslare Europort, as in Dublin, some 60% of trucks going through contain some sort of an agricultural or food product. Consequently, it is critically important that paperwork is in place to access the port, board the ferry and depart. Similarly for imports, the challenge will be on checks on agrigoods and food because of the scale of those checks. I was at the site on Monday and walked through it. It is well adequate to handle current and future additional traffic in Rosslare. Previously, Dublin was the only port which had that recognition as a border inspection post. Now that Rosslare has also been designated a border inspection post, traffic that currently could only go through Dublin can come in through Rosslare as an alternative. The other advantage of Rosslare is that it provides direct sailiings. Currently the market is waiting to see. The situation is very fluid with Brexit and the shipping lines are waiting to see its outcome. Our plans are not based on Brexit but on future growth. We see opportunities for direct sailings, purely based on current congestion in Dublin, Holyhead and elsewhere on the road. There is also a shift in traffic due to the shortage of drivers. Much of it is going unaccompanied. Ten years ago that market would have been 70% accompanied and 30% unaccompanied, where the market is now 70% unaccompanied and 30% accompanied. There is a need for more direct sailings to mainland Europe. We are working with ports to put together a package to attract shipping lines to avail of the connections from Rosslare to ports such as Zeebrugge, Le Havre, Rotterdam and so on. Rosslare port has a plan, with or without Brexit. We look forward to Rosslare growing and to delivering on the investment plan.