Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 9 November 2022
Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs
EU-UK relations and the implementation of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and the Northern Ireland Protocol: Discussion
Professor Katy Hayward:
That is very kind. As Professor Phinnemore said, we do not have the data yet for Northern Ireland. We do not have detailed statistics on GB-NI trade, but we have seen trade flows through Belfast port increase. The latest data that they have grown significantly, which is really because we have seen less trade between Dublin and Holyhead. That suggests a diversion of trade through Northern Ireland, which shows that we do not yet have full implementation of the protocol. This brings some benefits to Northern Ireland and possibly it is partly why Northern Ireland business as well as the UK Government is saying the baseline for an EU-UK agreement is to keep the grace periods in effect, so the consequences of the grace period can be preserved. That is clearly bringing some benefit to Northern Ireland.
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