Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

All Departments and agencies are continuing their contingency planning for Brexit, anticipating both orderly and disorderly scenarios. The Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport, and indeed all Departments, have continually stressed the importance of stakeholders taking all necessary steps within their control to prepare for Brexit, including the importance of undertaking contingency planning to minimise the impact of Brexit on their operations. I assure the Deputy that I and other Ministers will continue to work with our EU counterparts, both in EU capitals and within the EU institutions, to protect the interests of our businesses and our haulage sector.

It is vital to minimise the impact of Brexit by avoiding any new regulatory burden for our hauliers. I am pleased that transport and logistics providers have been participating in many of the advisory sessions being held around the country. Many of them have also applied for the Brexit loan scheme. The recent developments on the withdrawal agreement have been welcome. Pending the final outcome of the EU-UK negotiations, however, it is not possible to outline the regulatory regime that will be in place for Irish licensed road transport operators in the various post-Brexit scenarios. While the Government remains focused on the finalisation of the withdrawal agreement to ensure an orderly UK exit, preparations are continuing for all contingencies.

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