Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On duties and the challenges arising from them, I will ask Mr. Savage to give an update on the experience so far.

The Deputy asked about the meat industry and additional costs.

In general, we continue to monitor the real-life impact of Brexit on the cost base and the cost of doing business. We are monitoring that closely across the agrifood sector.

On reopening the Chinese market, that has been a priority and something I have been working on as Minister. I met the Chinese ambassador recently to try to move the issue forward. The Taoiseach has also recently written to Premier Li to try to make progress and seek to have it reopened. It is an important market for beef and other agrifood export lines. It is something we are focusing on and doing our best to make progress on.

On Northern Ireland ports, the safety of staff is paramount and there is an onus on all of us, North and South, to work to reduce tensions in this regard. The North-South protocol is ultimately about ensuring Northern Ireland has access to the Single Market as well as to the UK market. That requires processes to be in place to achieve that. We will monitor it closely and work to ensure issues are resolved, in particular, that there is a responsible approach and attitude and that any tensions that are emerging are dialled down. Does Mr. Savage want to come in on the point about the duties?