Mr. Paul Kelly:

The transition period, as currently framed, will last until the end of 2020. Based on the developments over the past 24 hours, we could see the extension until the end of January 2020, which will leave an 11-month transition period that is totally insufficient. Everybody is well aware that free trade negotiations take many years. There are a couple of points to bear in mind on the United Kingdom. They were also alluded to in the first session. There are a number of sensitive topics over and beyond agrifood. In any free trade agreement negotiations, agrifood tends to be one of the major stumbling blocks, resulting in significant delays. Many of the level playing pitch issues surrounding matters such as state aid, competition law, employment legislation and labour legislation may be contentious and will, I believe, result in the negotiations continuing for a significant period. Unless there is certainty on a transition period of sufficient duration to address these sorts of issues, therefore, it will result in considerable uncertainty for businesses. As it stands, looking at the transition period in isolation, it is a matter of business as usual. Most businesses, however, operate over a timeframe measured in years rather than months. They, therefore, need certainty measured in years rather than months in which to do their business properly.