Mr. John McGrane:

On both those points and the broad business response to the inevitable disruption, once Brexit was going to happen something was going to change. Over the course of almost five years, various versions of that change were debated on both islands and beyond but we got the resolution we got. From our point of view, as a business representative organisation representing businesses on both islands, we applauded and welcomed it. Absent this agreement there was no other way of getting business done, let alone addressing wider concerns about security and other such important matters.

Where are we? As I said earlier, businesses are pragmatic. They have no objection to change at all as long as it is well flagged and efficiently administered. We have been hearing from our members as currently as today, because we are privileged to be presenting to the committee and made sure we had our insights as up to date as possible. We have spoken to people who are major players in the food sector and who are hugely exposed in what is a very important industry. Of course, they have been sheltered to a degree because Britain, in some respects, has not really implemented Brexit thus far. The legitimate noise from surprising administrative disruption, shall we put it in those terms, even among the best-prepared, is fit to be repeated, I am afraid, as early as October when the next stage of food-related, animal health and phytosanitary regulation kicks in. It will happen again from early January next year when the fuller application of Brexit by Britain on the import side comes through.

Where does all that get us? First, from a business point of view, all of that increases costs. If an extra form has to be filled out than used to be the case, that is more expensive for the same piece of business. Something happens somewhere, ultimately. The consumer ends up paying more or, in a competitive market, the margin falls on that supply chain and somebody else has to cut costs or is replaced by somebody else operating off a lower price base. As I said at the top, business has no worries about competing. It just likes to know what is coming.

It got most of that information - not all of it - in its real detail with barely a couple of weeks to go between Christmas and the new year. There is more still to come. On the constructive side, businesses North, South, east and west will greatly appreciate if the changes, which they acknowledge have to be accepted, are accompanied by efficiency processes such as the greater use of online. Mr. Lynam talked about a single clearing house, a forum and the ways and means of working out how these rules can be best - that is, least obstructively - applied, consistent with the need to apply them in the first place.

There are many ways this can be done. Regarding the UK, I was present at Hillsborough House in Northern Ireland when Michael Gove announced the launch of the trader support scheme, which has the universal acclaim of businesses in Northern Ireland and which was broadly welcomed. This is because it is an online process that did not exist previously and was brought in to help people comply with, not object to, the engagements and obligations consistent with the protocol. I will not speak for the new leader of the Democratic Unionist Party, but I might observe that he has been the Minister with responsibility for some of the application of the protocol at port-side facilities in Northern Ireland. Notwithstanding legitimate observation from a political stance, those rules have been applied at the same time as working very closely with business to find better and better ways of applying them so they have the least disruptive impact.

We respect utterly the role of public representatives who have the toughest job of the lot, which is to stand out there on the hustings and take beatings from everybody and praise from few, while meantime the real work of politics, including Departmental supports, is to work out ways of dealing with the problem in the first place. We know that is going on in Northern Ireland. We wish people good political courage, strength and support to bring about the ultimate application of a protocol, which is more easily applied by all when they know they need to apply it because it is a much better solution than the alternatives.