Dr. Pat Ivory:

There was no intention not to address the particular issue of the protocol; it had just slipped my mind. Certainly recent weeks have been a challenging period. We know Michael Gove has written to the EU with a list of requests. We know the Union is considering these requests with regard to the protocol and, in particular, with regard to the extension of some of the grace periods in the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.

In my opening statement, I referred to a meeting of the joint committee on the implementation of the protocol, which is chaired by Maroš Šefovi and Michael Gove, that will take place this week. We hope some progress can be made there. The protocol is a very valuable agreement and its importance cannot be overstated with regard to what it delivers for the shared island economy. I have mentioned some of these areas, including dairy processing and the drinks sector, particularly the whiskey sector.

It is very important that we recognise that it underpins the Good Friday Agreement and peace and prosperity on a shared island basis. We need to return to this profound fundamental and very complex issue, which the protocol has addressed and has, after a number of years of negotiation, delivered. It is not something that can be taken for granted at any stage or moment in time.

All we can say is an issue arose with regard to Article 16. This has been addressed and the article has not been applied. Nevertheless, there needs to be further discussion between the UK and EU to deal with some of the fallout from this and to explain what is within the protocol and the issues that are part of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. IBEC is 100% committed to continuing to work with our business partners in the North, the UK and Europe to ensure the protocol continues to deliver the very important and key aspects that it does at present.