Mr. John Nolan:

I will educate everyone. On the UK systems at the moment, the only things that require a customs declaration for going in or out of the UK are excisable goods, including alcohol and those types of product. That accounts for 4% or 5% of goods. All other products will require very little paperwork until 1 April. Veterinary certificates are required. Full customs will apply from 1 July. That is why customs in the UK is not an issue at the moment.

I had an experience last week of a problem in the UK. Goods have been sitting in warehouses in the UK since January because people there are not up to speed on how to fill out the paperwork for UK export declarations and, thereafter, Irish import declarations. Last week, I encountered a customer who has had electrical goods in a warehouse since January. He was told that the goods were coming but someone else told him, on the side, that the goods were stuck in a warehouse because the people in the company at the UK end did not know how to fill out UK export declarations. We took the goods and got them in. This is why the volume of traffic from the UK is about 50% of what it should be. We are seeing it get better every week but it is a slow process because people are being educated slowly on how to get the paperwork ready. Ireland is a bit ahead in that respect for the simple reason that we have had full declarations since 1 January.