Mr. Jim Breslin:

The common travel area does not relate to products but to people. It is a different conversation than for product movement between the United Kingdom and the European Union post-Brexit. Obviously, we have an interest in food safety in that context. Significant preparations are under way. The HSE's environmental health service has responsibility for food safety as it relates to food of non-animal origin, while the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has responsibility for foods of animal origin. Broadly, that is how the division of responsibility works. For example, we have approved 61 additional environmental health officers for the HSE. They will carry out physical checks and checks on documentation in the importation of foods. Currently, arrangements are in place for third country importation. If foods come from outside the European Union and land in Dublin Port as their first port of entry to the European Union, the environmental health service personnel at the port go through the products to ensure they are acceptable for supply to the Irish market. They do this on a risk basis and do not have to go through every product. They look at the nature of the product and decide what to inspect.

In the event that there is a crash-out, products coming from the United Kingdom would have to be subject to the same regime. That means taking a risk-based approach where we would look at the nature of the products, while the environmental health service would make a decision, based on the documentation, on what was worthy of physical inspection. That would involve a logistical operation, in particular at Dublin Port, on the part of the environmental health service of the HSE, officers from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine and Revenue customs officials. While such an operation is already in place, it will have to be beefed up considerably. If a ship arrives from the United Kingdom, officials will have to look at the cargo details, lorries and importers, of which they will have to receive advance notice. They will look at the products involved and a determination that might be made would be for the environmental health service to inspect two lorries off that ship. Revenue will act as the co-ordination mechanism and issue a message to the haulier to the effect that the lorry must be presented for inspection. It would not get to exit the port without that inspection. The lorry and its cargo would be presented for inspection by environmental health officers before it could go on its way.

The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine could do the same for meat or similarly the Revenue in the case of a customs issue.

The logistical operation in the port has been carefully planned to ensure that, on a risk basis, we have controls in place but the free flow of traffic continues. It is to ensure that the truck driver who does not have any issues can get off the ship and out of Dublin Port without experiencing traffic jams. Those who are subject to inspection will obviously experience some delay as their products are examined. That is one of the consequences of moving out of the EU. People importing from the UK into Ireland will be subject in some cases to a check of documentation or a physical inspection based on risk. That is not the case now.