Mr. Neil McDonnell:

That is a tricky question to answer. Part of the problem is that at the start of Brexit there was a huge focus on the export business, particularly in the food sector. Many small businesses in Ireland are exposed to the UK from the import side. Realistically, we are a small market. Small businesses have been reliant on big UK distributors to take smaller imports. While there was a huge focus on what tariffs would apply, in reality the vast majority of tariffs in sectors other than the food sector top out at about 8%. Other issues such as standards and certification are much more intrusive. A simple example is the warning, which Mr. Hughes will have seen, from the Department of Justice around Christmas crackers for this Christmas. We buy most of those from the UK. They are classified as fireworks and have to carry a CE mark. However, British suppliers can no longer put a CE mark on Christmas crackers. A huge number of our wholesalers and importers rely on British suppliers to do that for products like Christmas crackers and toys for small children. Our people are not necessarily big enough to import them yet. They have not yet identified a big French or German importer who will take over that certification function and then distribute here. That work is yet to be done, unfortunately.