Mr. Gerry Harrahill:

I would say "No" to the question about legislation on the basis that the basic legislation that is there is the Union customs code and the national statute is the Customs Act. I would be comfortable that, broadly speaking, the legal framework is sound.

On infrastructure, I should put on the record my acknowledgement of the work done by the Office of Pubic Works, OPW, to put all the infrastructure in place. What is there and what is planned in the context of Dublin Port, and what we will have by the end of the year, will meet the requirements. After that, it is a question of making absolutely sure that the procedures operated across and between the agencies are fully aligned so that we get maximum efficiency for what we have there.

The Senator is probably aware that there is a longer-term plan for Rosslare Europort. All the agencies, including the Revenue Commissioners, have clearly set out the requirements in the context of that longer term solution. We are happy that the OPW will lead on behalf of all the agencies. What is in Rosslare at the moment is adequate for our purposes but a longer term solution is actively being talked about.