David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Has the Department looked at and formulated a view on the proposal to establish a border control post in Cork? I am told at the moment there are 2,000 containers that cannot be unloaded in Cork due to the restriction of not having a border control post there. I am told some containers are going over to Southampton, England. The contents are then taken by truck to the west coast of Britain and across to Dublin or Rosslare, where they then go through a border control post. Some even go to Antwerp, Belgium. I am told it costs approximately €4,000 per container. It is having a huge impact on trade, and there is a knock-on impact in costs to consumers and businesses here. Is the Department aware of this and has it formulated a view on it? Has it made any representations to the Department of agriculture or Revenue, which I am sure were involved in this. It is a huge issue, and it could be of huge benefit to the country if it could be dealt with.