Mr. Patrick Donohoe:

Based on everything we know, from 1 January 2026, they would not be comfortable with that 30% to 50% of product. That has a huge potential impact, primarily on Northern Ireland dairy farmers. We are an all-island food nation and the impact on the dairy industry, companion animals and all ancillaries would be huge. Going back to the Deputy's analogy about a nightmare, the last five or six years have been War and Peace in terms of length.

We do not think there is a fairy tale outcome. The EU is digging its heels in on opening up to a new SPS veterinary agreement. Regarding the current grace period, the EU says is up to NI-UK to sort out its affairs and get companies to recertify in Northern Ireland or the EU.

The Deputy referred to naivety in new Labour. I would describe it as naivety bordering on positivity, or a confection of the two. Northern Ireland and GB are using this time to seek a new agreement, whereas the EU is saying the Windsor Framework is the agreement and GB must press ahead. We have major concerns about the potential impact of time running out.

Agribusinesses in the past five or six years have been marched up to the top of the hill each time there was a new deadline and new potential impact, only to be assuaged and a fudge found towards the end. This takes a long time to implement. If veterinary companies have to recertify, warehouse and batch test in the EU, that is not a weekend job; it takes months and months. We need a new SPS agreement and veterinary edits because farmers are terrified about this and our industry is really concerned. The impact on the all-island economy would be massive.