Mr. Barry Delany:

It is actually the inverse because when Scotland was in the EU the logs could move freely from that pest-free area into Ireland once the logs were accompanied by a plant passport. It was the same for a consignment moving from Cork to Dublin, if the consignment was coming from western Scotland to Dublin. Since Brexit has come into place, Scotland is treated as a third country exporter and must now show they comply with the European plant health regulation requirements.

Then as the consignments come in they are stopped at the point of entry. They cannot get through the port until the Department of agriculture clears them. Customs will not release any of those consignments until we clear those with documentary ID and the physical checks that are required as well. In fact, it has become more onerous for them and they have had to increase their surveillance to be able to comply with what is required here. In some ways, maybe there are some positives from Brexit given what is being done in this regard. Since 2021, those consignments are red routed and cannot be released until we release them and clear them.