Mr. Joe Ryan:

I am the HSE national director for national services and I am joined by my colleague, Ms Ann Marie Part, assistant national director for environmental health. I thank the select committee for its invitation to meet it to discuss customs checks and trade flows in and out of Irish ports.

The HSE environmental health service is a regulatory inspectorate responsible for a broad range of statutory functions enacted to protect the health of the public. Under service contract with the Food Safety Authority of Ireland, FSAI, the environmental health service has responsibility for inspecting food imports of non-animal origin arriving from outside the European Union into Ireland, for compliance with EU food safety law.

In the interests of food safety and consumer protection, all EU member states are obliged to enforce EU import control legislation on food and food contact materials. EU Regulation 2017/625 requires specific foods imported into the EU to enter via border control posts with specified minimum facilities.

In preparation for Brexit, the HSE recruited and trained more than 110 additional environmental health officers and administration staff specifically for import controls at Dublin Port and Rosslare Europort border control posts. A 24-7 service is provided in both.

Inspections by environmental health officers include document checks, physical checks and sampling of products. These controls are required by EU legislation, which sets the frequencies and parameters for inspections on a wide variety of foods, particularly those the EU has designated as high risk to public health. Controls are required on products for a range of both microbiological and chemical risks including, for example, rice for genetically modified organisms; spices and nuts for mycotoxins and sesame seeds for salmonella and some products may be prohibited from entering the EU. The role of the HSE at the ports is to protect Ireland’s food chain and the health of the consumer.

Since 2017, the HSE has been working closely with colleagues in the Departments of Health and Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Revenue Commissioners and the FSAI to ensure good co-operation between agencies on shared issues such as facilities management, information systems, joint inspections, and stakeholder communication.

Since 2018, the HSE has also been participating in numerous cross-agency groups supporting and informing food businesses, importers and agents of the post-Brexit requirements. The UK’s decision to leave the EU, however, means Ireland is now one of the first points of entry into the EU for GB products. It has presented significant challenges and new ways of working for many import businesses and it is clear that despite early engagement, many importers did not anticipate the level of complexity on 1 January.

Many of the higher-risk foods imported into the EU, which must now be checked at Irish border control posts, have mandatory paperwork requirements, which should be submitted electronically 24 hours in advance of arrival to allow for speedy transit through the ports. However, some businesses did not appear to be fully aware of this requirement in the early stages of Brexit, which caused some delays.

When insufficient or incomplete paperwork is submitted with a consignment, there could be a delay in its release from the port if this paperwork is not provided in advance. A small number of consignments, of which there were approximately 100 in quarter 1 of 2021, must also be selected for physical examinations and this process takes time. However, environmental health officers regularly communicate directly with the importer regarding the status of its consignment.

If the HSE receives the correct paperwork for a consignment prior to its arrival in Ireland and no physical examination is required, the environmental health officer indicates to Revenue, while the consignment is still on the ferry, that no further HSE controls are required and the consignment can be released. However, only Revenue can release a consignment from the port as there may be other agency checks required, depending on what mix of products may be in the consignment.

In the first quarter of 2021, the HSE undertook checks on almost 14,000 consignments between Dublin and Rosslare with over 11,000 of these consignments arriving from Great Britain. In the same period in 2020, checks were completed on 891 consignments. The vast majority of these consignments were cleared for release.

The HSE regularly meets and proactively works with importers, agents, hauliers and food businesses in cases in which difficulties have been identified.

A dedicated environmental health service business liaison group has been established for this purpose, alongside dedicated email addresses in Dublin and Rosslare which are monitored 24-7. This wide engagement and business-focused advice have led to a better understanding of procedures, leading to further compliance and reduced transit times through the ports.

In conclusion, with the UK now outside the EU, it is not possible to have the same automatic free flow of food through the ports as before. The HSE recognises industry challenges and remains committed to working together with other regulatory agencies, port authorities and industry representatives to ensure smooth and effective transition of goods through the ports while also ensuring compliance with EU food safety legislation.