Mr. Liam Lacey:

I thank the Deputy. The UK land bridge existed before the Single Market. I take his point that imports and exports are perhaps a lot more sophisticated now than before. The technology we have for dealing with customs declarations and so on has also changed. I would make that point, however, that there is an opportunity to rely on technology to mitigate some of the problems.

I cannot comment on the detail of traffic management in ports, especially the traffic management system for the Port Tunnel and Dublin Port. The Deputy indicated that he had meetings with representatives of the ports and I am sure he has had responses from them on that matter. I am aware, through engagement with the ports over the past year, that they have been working tirelessly on this problem. Systems have been put in place, or are in the process of being tested, in Dublin Port and elsewhere.

With regard to communications with industry, since the publication of the report under discussion here we have spoken to representative groups, including IBEC, the Irish Exporters Association, the Freight Transport Association of Ireland, the medical devices and pharmaceutical industries, and groups that are linked to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, including business and innovation, where we took a session with lots of different stakeholders entering the conversation there. We also had stakeholders enter the conversation in the session we did with the Irish Exporters Association. That contact has been ongoing. In our normal work we engage with the groups to discuss these questions and to try to find the best solutions. On the issue of finding the solutions for individual sectors or individual importers and exporters, I am not sure that we can help to any great extent in communicating with them, but we can direct their communications to the ports and the shipping companies because they are the actors that can make a difference in this scenario. If importers and exporters are articulating new demands or different requirements, shipping companies are capable of making adjustments to the frequency and capacity of their services, but that conversation needs to take place. We have been urging that conversation, going back to a forerunner of the Assess, Communicate, Trial, ACT, campaign in 2019 and a campaign called Be Prepared for Brexit, which dealt with all of these issues. In the room on that occasion we had representatives of industry, importers and exporters. We were advising the same sort of approach - that one needs the actors who can make a difference to be talking to each other. We have been urging that.

On the timing of deliveries and the sophistication of supply chains, I understand that point fully, but I believe we must accept that if the land bridge is a lot slower and if we have to rely to a greater extent on direct services, then things change. We cannot replicate the speed of the land bridge using direct services. There is going to have to be adjustments in the supply chain and just-in-time systems. Just-in-time systems operate around the conditions that apply in different parts of the supply chain. If goods cannot be delivered any sooner than two days, is the just-in-time system into which those goods feed capable of adapting? Those conversations need to take place again. I hope this addresses the Deputy's questions.