Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to raise a few points that are pertinent to the area of transport. There is concern among many in the sector that the Government is overly reliant on the fact that a hard Brexit is too big to happen. One hopes that a deal will be done by the 11th hour. A hard Brexit will ensure that trade is governed by the WTO and it will ensure the introduction of tariffs, customs and the reintroduction of administrative supports. I compliment the ports which have carried out the necessary infrastructural improvements to cater for a hard Brexit. Earlier this summer, the Government confirmed that it approved the recruitment process.

Is the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine prepared to carry out all inspections on live animals, foods and plants? I expect a reply to that question. How many posts have been filled as of today? How many posts have been advertised and when will they be filled?

Aviation is a critical sector for a small island nation. We currently have market access through the open skies policy. Earlier this year, Taskforce 50 of the European Commission announced a bare bones contingency plan for fallout from the open skies policy. Has any flesh been put on the bare bone contingency plans to avoid flight disruptions post March 2019? What is the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, doing to ensure the third and fourth freedoms codified by the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO, will be invoked to ensure that, post March 2019, travel between the EU 27 and the UK will be maintained?

Safety regulation is sometimes not acknowledged or spoken about, but parts from many Irish aircraft currently come from the UK and they will not be valid if there is a hard Brexit. We need to ensure that there is mutual recognition between our safety standards. If there is not, the parts that keep our aircraft in the skies until the end of March 2019 will not be recognised after that. What work is being done to ensure that there is mutual recognition of safety standards?

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