Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is good and there will be no change in that. Ideally the island of Ireland would apply the Single Market and customs union rules. This is particularly important with regard to food supplies. Has the Department been in contact with distributors, including importers and exporters? Northern Ireland suppliers and distributors have a vested interest in ensuring the highest possible standards are applicable on the island of Ireland. That is in their interests. If one talks to Ulster farmers in Northern Ireland, for example, they will very quickly tell one that they are inextricably linked with the South and with the EU in the context of standards.

This leads me to a question on ports and airports. To what extent has the Department been in touch with port and airport authorities and their customs units with a view to ensuring that the dumping of products from lower standard economies does not happen via the North of Ireland? The standards that apply here must also apply in the North. Has the Department been in touch with them?