Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The number and frequency of ferries coming and going in Dover, and the turnaround times relating thereto, are many multiples of those in Dublin. We have got to get our house in order in the context of Dublin Port. We have spent a lot of time and money trying to do that. It is really a partnership between Revenue, Dublin Port and the Departments of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Transport and Health all trying to work together to make sure that we have a plan that works for everybody. In truth, the challenge for Dover is many multiples of that. That is why - we will have to wait and see - we must have contingency plans in place in case that does not work out to well, and we do in terms of direct ferry links.

On the common travel area, CTA, and frontier workers, etc., if you are an Irish or British citizen living on the island of Ireland, you have no worries. Your freedom to move around and work will be the same on 1 January as it is today. If you are an EU citizen living in the Republic of Ireland and working in Northern Ireland, you will be able to travel, of course, because of the CTA, but you may need to avail of the permitting system the UK will have for EU nationals working in the UK post Brexit. If you are currently an EU national who works in the UK, including Northern Ireland, you are automatically covered - it is a sort of formality - and somebody who comes in the future to do that will have to apply for that permitting process. That is why the CTA is a fantastic solution if you hold an Irish or a British passport. If you hold a Polish, Dutch, French or German passport, while you can travel without restriction, your ability to be able to work and access welfare and all the other things requires some paperwork.

On the island of Ireland, North and South, I do not envisage huge problems. There is also then a frontier workers' issue of facilitation which will cover many of the workers also. This will not be a too difficult a space. If, however, you are a non-Irish but EU citizen in Ireland and you need to go to GB, for example, for a six-month contract, that will not be as seamless as it is today. It will require an application process and permitting system. What we take for granted today, namely, hopping on a flight to London and doing what one needs to do for a few weeks, if one is a Dutch person working for Apple, Dell or an Irish company that has a footprint in the UK, it is not so straightforward anymore. This is Brexit, I am afraid.