Mr. Fergal O'Brien:

I thank Deputy Stanton for the questions. I do not think we are going to have chaos on 1 January but I do think we have a lot of challenges facing us next year. The issues that have been mentioned around logistics, direct shipping and the land bridge are all of concern to business and we continue to work on them. Many of our companies have de-risked the land bridge option completely by putting direct shipping options in place.

On the specific question of what no-deal means for businesses, there are two issues. First, all of the other issues that still need to be worked out between the EU and UK become a lot more difficult without the platform of a bare-bones trade agreement. We know that there are lots of details still to be worked out but if we get that bare-bones trade deal in the coming weeks, it allows us to continue very positive engagement in the weeks and months ahead. Second, if we are facing tariffs for our food and drink industry, for example, we are looking at something in the region of €1.5 billion in additional costs on Irish business. In some sectors and sub-sectors, that will be an unbearable cost. Right now, less than four weeks out, how are companies to price their products commercially for the UK market when they do not know whether tariffs will apply?

Those are the big issues with which businesses are dealing right now.