Mr. Eugene Drennan:

First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge the Chair. I thank him for taking us back in as he promised to do when I was here before Christmas. I wish to also acknowledge another member of the committee, Senator Timmy Dooley. He was the person to contact me originally. I have tried to give him some information but the issue is quite complex with a lot of numbers and letters. All of that may have left him further confused but I acknowledge his efforts.

I will now read our opening statement but I would like to give a foreword. Other than what has been reported, the IRHA and hauliers are not trying to change, overcome or bypass the Brexit rules in any way. We are looking to the enormous costs that are placed on hauliers and the cost of doing business now for Ireland that will have to be passed on and will end up with the consumer. All of this is summed up in one word - costs. We are at the forefront of it and are getting the brunt of it. We are here to talk about how we do our business, and how we can streamline costs and get more efficiencies.

The new systems set up by the Revenue Commissioners for pre-boarding notification, PBN, new requirements for safety and security declarations, and import and export declarations, are not working effectively.

It is clear neither the Irish authorities nor industry took an opportunity to trial the new systems before they came into effect. Consequently, the new systems have been overloaded and goods are being blocked and delayed. Licensed hauliers, as carriers of the goods, have borne the brunt of these disruptions.

The information technology systems being employed by the Irish authorities are not working and require substantial revision to ensure they can be effective at clearing the backlog of goods stuck in the system and preventing such problems occurring again. Currently, the system is being challenged at a time when import and export levels are lower than normal due to stockpiling before 31 December. The systems will collapse entirely once trade volumes are restored to normal levels if something is not done. It is deeply frustrating that despite the long lead-in to Brexit - a process now five years old - the systems and approaches being operated by the Irish authorities to manage post-Brexit trade are not fit for purpose and are actually frustrating rather than facilitating trade.

There are a number of specific measures that could be introduced to address the current crisis. There must be co-ordination between the different systems being operated by the Irish authorities, as there are alarming indications that the systems - information technology and otherwise - being operated by the Revenue Commissioners, customs authorities and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine are not working in tandem. New protocols and procedures should be applied at the Irish ports to work with and support those involved in the transport of goods. Currently there is very limited communication or information being provided and there is a distinct lack of engagement at all levels.

There should be a review of processes to address the imposition of unnecessary or repetitive checks on goods being imported to Ireland. A risk-based approach to inspections is badly needed to prevent unnecessary blockages to the trade in goods. There is a distinct lack of oversight of the operations of the different Irish authorities in the ports. There is no central entity or office assessing how each of the Irish agencies is responding to Brexit and consequently the current problems being experienced are not being diagnosed and addressed. Given the lack of preparedness of the Irish authorities for Brexit, some form of adjustment period will be required to allow them to get their systems and processes to work effectively.

Licensed hauliers must meet a plethora of new protocols and requirements to keep goods moving, including securing some or all of a master reference number, a pre-boarding notification identification, an entry summary declaration number related to safety and security, a transit accompanying document, an export safety and security declaration, customs checks, Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine checks and HSE checks. The systems are not speaking to each other and co-ordination and streamlining are absent. The effective result is that the just-in-time model is virtually impossible to achieve for Ireland. We will put ourselves into a position of a second world country within the EU if we do not take radical action to correct this.