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

The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, hosted an all-island sectoral meeting on Brexit in Dundalk last year. A number of other stakeholder events were held this year and last year. The Department continues to work with the road haulage, tourism, aviation and maritime sectors and stakeholders to identify and plan further for the implications of Brexit. A study was carried out by the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport to assess the reasons for the use of the land bridge. There is a lot of information in that report, but, to cut to the chase, the study recommended that Ireland's continued access to the UK land bridge is protected in the ongoing EU-UK negotiations. There is ongoing liaison with the European Commission on this matter and on other implications for the international road haulage sector.

We are continuing with contingency planning for all scenarios, both for the central case of a withdrawal agreement being fully agreed and a no-deal outcome, which I feel remains unlikely. It is not helpful to discuss the no-deal scenario at this time. The focus must be on ratifying the agreement, which is the only possible deal that can deliver an orderly UK withdrawal and which has been endorsed by the European Council and the British Government.

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