Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. O'Reilly and Mr. Carr. I have few questions myself. My first is to Mr. O'Reilly. I have visited Dublin Port a couple of times with him and some colleagues. I found the entire set-up very impressive. The view from the port company's building is something to behold and I am sure it is a nice place to be working in. I saw at first hand the level of investment the company has been making over the years, and that it intends to make. I am aware of the company's long-term plan and it is good to have that forewarning about reaching the ultimate capacity in the next ten to 20 years, depending on how things move.

One of the concerns raised at our first session today with the representatives of the haulage industry was specifically on the location of agriculture, Revenue and HSE facilities at the port. They are in different terminals and this seems to be proving tricky for some of the hauliers in that they may sent to different terminals in order to get paperwork completed. Is there anything that can be done from our side to assist with that? Is that a problem to which we can find a solution? I fully appreciate that the company is constrained and it cannot just build wherever it wants. What can we do to try to streamline that?

For the representatives of both ports, one of the issues raised by the haulage industry was the fact that in the context of original certificates, physical paperwork is required for some of the checks. The representatives of the haulage industry called for that paperwork to be digitised. They stated that a physical piece of paper should not be required in this day and age. Is that a reasonable suggestion? How do we make that happen? How realistic is it that we would get that issue resolved in the near future? Basically, what would it take to digitise all of the paperwork that is currently required in actual paper format?

The representatives of the haulage industry also referred to 1 July. They mentioned that some additional checks will come into play in April but the full range of customs requirements will come into effect on 1 July in the UK. Mr. Carr has painted an element of the picture. He stated that we will not see much of it here but it will impact on volumes. From the perspective of both ports, what can we expect here when that full range of customs requirements hits home, particularly in light of the fact that there has been some stockpiling and the level of imports is down on what one would expect at this time of year? Do Mr. Carr and Mr. O'Reilly anticipate stockpiling in advance of that date, while customs checks are not as stringent as they will be? Will that ease the pressure such that we can adjust to those new arrangements over a longer period post 1 July?

On the idea of certainty of delivery, it is obvious that with direct access to Europe one has greater certainty in terms of getting one's goods fruch as fresh seafood, for example. I am talking about the impact of the land bridge and the fact that certainty of delivery is probably more guaranteed with direct access to Euom location A to location B and vice versa. Is the land bridge viewed as a bit too uncertain in terms of delivery time? One of the things we discussed in the run-up to Brexit was the fact that it took almost twice as long for goods transported via direct access to mainland Europe to get there and that the land bridge was much quicker. This is particularly important for perishable goods srope but we were always told the land bridge is extremely important for perishable goods. Where are we at in that regard? Where is that trade-off? Do the witnesses still consider that the land bridge will always be required? How is it coping? Are they having much engagement with their counterparts in the UK? In the run-up to Brexit, the feeling was that those in the UK were not as prepared as we were. I think that has been shown to be true. Are the witnesses having much engagement with their UK counterparts in terms of any blockages there right now and, in particular, in advance of 1 July? How are they getting ready for that date to ensure we do not see major impacts on our supply chains?

Those questions are for either Mr. Carr or Mr. O'Reilly.I will go to Mr. O'Reilly first and then to Mr. Carr.