Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

At this stage, all members who have requested to ask questions have come in. It has been a very informative debate. What prompted the committee to invite the three agencies - the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Revenue Commissioners and the Health Service Executive - in together was previous meetings we had, in particular with the Irish Road Haulage Association, the business representative groups and the ports. To be fair, all of the questions have been asked by various members and the answers have been very candid, informative and detailed. I thank the witnesses, not only for their opening statements but their engagement with committee members.

I will make one comment as opposed to asking a question. The message we have received from witnesses at previous meetings is that sometimes there is a feeling it is not as streamlined between the three agencies as it could be for the haulier or the trader, that in particular, with the infrastructure that is currently in place, people are going to different offices and different buildings and it can be a bit difficult to get all their ducks in a row, for the want of a better phrase. There was also a specific request to try to get rid of the physical paperwork and move to digital. That is something to bear in mind. We wanted to get the three agencies into the virtual room together to find out how they are working together in terms of providing that service at the ports to hauliers and the various traders. On behalf of the committee, I ask the witnesses to keep under review how the State agencies can work together in a more aligned way to make it as easy as possible for those coming through the ports, in particular when we might anticipate an increased demand coming through the ports as well.

I have no further questions on behalf of the committee but if any of the witnesses wish to make any final remarks before we bring we bring the meeting to a close, they are welcome to do so. I can see certain hands up, but I am not sure if they are up from a previous occasion. Ms O'Neill's hand is up. Does she wish to come back in?