Mr. Paul Savage:

I thank the committee for the opportunity to address it on the experience to date in the implementation of sanitary and phytosanitary, SPS, controls by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine since the end of the transition period.

The UK's departure from the Single Market on 1 January 2021 means that the seamless trading arrangements between Ireland and Great Britain that were in place up to the end of December 2020 no longer exist. Additional administrative burdens are being placed on operators and State agencies. All of those engaged in the trade and movement of goods have to acknowledge this reality an appreciate that these new arrangements are permanent.

In addition to the new customs requirements that have already been outlined, EU regulations require that certain types of consignments entering the EU are checked at specialised facilities called border control posts before being placed on the EU Single Market. These are called SPS checks. The consignments that have to be subjected to these checks are those consisting of animals, plants and plant and animal products, including food. The purpose of these controls is to ensure that plants and animals, and products made therefrom, meet the food safety standards of the EU and do not pose a risk in respect of the introduction of plant or animal diseases that we do not have in the EU. If they were introduced, they could have a devastating effect on the agrifood industry in Ireland and across the EU. Foot and mouth disease is one such example.

The controls also ensure that products being imported have been produced to the same standards. These controls are not new. They have been in place since the Single Market was first created in 1993. The difference now is that on 1 January, these controls came into force for consignments of plants, animals and plant and animal products coming from the UK, except Northern Ireland. The requirement for these controls is not affected by the trade and co-operation agreement struck on Christmas Eve, so they are required in any event.

SPS controls consist of three types: documentary, identity and physical. The frequency of SPS controls is laid down in EU legislation and member states do not have any discretion in that regard.

With some exceptions, consignments of plant and animal products, including food, coming from Great Britain must now be accompanied by a health certificate signed by an official veterinarian in the case of animals and animal products or by an official plant health inspector in the case of plants and plant products. This includes consignments that may have originated from other non-EU countries. On arrival at the port, certain products must undergo identity checks. These checks must be carried out on all live animals and 100% of animal products. Identity checks on plant products are carried out on a risk basis. Identity checks can be of two types. In the event that an official seal has been applied to a truck and the details are entered on the health certificate, the identity check will consist of a check of that seal. If an official seal has not been applied, the identity check will need to involve unloading the truck to check the identity on the boxes or whatever packaging is involved, which will take longer to carry out. Some commodities will also need to undergo physical checks. The rates are related to the risk posed by the product and can vary from as low as 1% to as high as 100% depending on the exact nature of the consignment.

These checks will take time. The European Single Market was created to enable borderless trade between members of the European Union. The decision of the UK to leave the European Union means that this no longer applies to the border between Great Britain and the European Union and, as such, the border is now no different from the border that exists to the south and east of the European Union. To treat this border differently from the other borders would fundamentally undermine the integrity of the European Union and the Single Market. This is the single most significant change to agrifood trade flows between Great Britain and Ireland that has been seen since the Single Market was created in 1993. As such, it presents a significant challenge for all stakeholders, including State agencies, in adjusting to this new reality.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine is working closely with business operators to help them to adapt to this significant change. Following the extensive engagement undertaken through a range of fora and communications channels in the period leading up to December 2020, we are continuing to assist operators with practical matters such as the submission of documents and the resolution of technical difficulties. The Department has run nine webinars on a variety of topics to help all stakeholders to understand the implications of the UK now being outside the Single Market and customs union. This series of webinars began in September 2019 and the most recent one was run last week in response to the immediate difficulties that have been experienced recently by business operators in complying with sanitary and phytosanitary requirements. The webinar last week had more than 800 attendees and a recording of it, as well as all previous webinars, can be found on the Department's website along with advice on issues such as how to access the various IT systems that business operators now need to engage with, what health certificates are required for the different commodities and also what businesses can do to reduce the time that sanitary and phytosanitary checks in the ports will take.

The Department has given presentations on sanitary and phytosanitary requirements at various fora, including the Brexit stakeholder consultative forum run by the Department of Transport and our own Brexit stakeholder consultative committee, which has met regularly recently. At all these presentations, stakeholders were advised that the sanitary and phytosanitary requirements would apply regardless of whether a free trade deal was concluded with the UK.

Regarding the experience since 1 January, in general, traffic has been moving well through the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine's inspection facilities at Dublin and Rosslare ports. Throughput is still quite low compared with what we expected and are ready for following significant investment in new infrastructure, staffing and IT systems over the past two years in particular. While the majority of agrifood businesses are making significant efforts to comply with the requirements for import into the European Union, there have been delays in some instances due to failure to provide advance notification, absence of health certificates and problems with health certificates. It is not the responsibility of, for instance, the driver of the haulage company to ensure compliance with these requirements. That is the responsibility of the importer or the person to whom the importer has delegated that responsibility.

I hope this gives members a good sense of the role and experience of the Department in the operation of new arrangements since 1 January. My colleague, Ms Sheridan, and I are happy to answer any questions members may have.