Mr. Eddie Burke:

In terms of transport, there is no real difference between what was in the omnibus Bill last year and what is in the omnibus Bill this year. Irrespective of whether it is the withdrawal agreement or a no-deal Brexit, it just happens that in those cases it does not make that much of a difference. On the other issues, road haulage has been dealt with in the wider negotiation. It is an EU competence and is being dealt with within that. The issues about access and cabotage and all the road haulage issues that we need resolved are part of that. We would like to see arrangements similar to those we have currently but that is subject to the negotiations. It is kind of stuck at the moment. The Senator will have seen in the pronunciations by Michel Barnier that matters are stuck on the level playing field provisions, where the UK is looking for access but without necessarily signing up to the general standards that apply to EU members.

Maritime is not something that comes within our purview, apart from the pilotage exemption certificates, PECs, issue. Maritime connectivity is the big issue that we have. That is not so much stuck in the negotiations because maritime is a very open sector. However, the customs and agriculture checks that will be required for imports both in the UK and here in Ireland pose a danger that they will disrupt the flow of goods across the UK land bridge. For anybody going from Dublin across the UK and driving out into Dover and Calais there is a big danger of delays and the UK is predicting a high risk of disruption. The key maritime issue for ourselves is to try to encourage trade to go around. There is sufficient capacity on the direct services that leave from Dublin, Rosslare and indeed Cork and Shannon Foynes. It is mainly Dublin and Rosslare that go directly into European ports. That means those hauliers will avoid the UK land bridge and potential disruption at Dover Port or Holyhead. It also means they would stay within the Single Market and would not have to fill out customs documentation, so there would be less of a cost. The big ask from a maritime point of view is trying to get business not to leave it to the last minute and decide then there is a problem but to try to get them to move in advance.

On aviation it is a similar type issue in that it is an EU competence and it is in the negotiations. On the whole issue around connectivity, there is no default or WTO rules. Aviation is not covered by WTO rules. If we do not have an agreement there has to be some sort of fall-back position. We will be looking to the EU for contingency similar to what was in place last year. On citizens' issues, I can only cover the transport aspect. One of the issues would be UK driver licences. For anybody living in Ireland with a UK driver licence, it will no longer be valid from 1 January. The Road Safety Authority had a large campaign last year and again this year to try to get people to switch. We do not want a situation where people driving around day to day suddenly find their licence is not valid. The Road Safety Authority estimates that approximately 70,000 residents in Ireland hold UK licences. It reckons between 53,000 and 55,000 of them have switched since the start of 2019. We still need to get the remainder over that line as well.