Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will update the House on the work that is being progressed to protect the continuity of the supply of medicines and transport connectivity between Ireland and both the UK and continental Europe.

First, as Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs, I will focus on the EU's preparedness and contingency planning, which has provided the basis for much of our own domestic planning. Our biggest contingency measure is that we will still be a member of the European Union. We will still benefit from the protections and privileges that this gives to our nation and our people. The Commission's contingency planning has been developed in consultation with all member states, and with particularly close co-operation both on Irish-specific issues, and on other issues which will impact Ireland most particularly. The Commission has published more than 80 technical notes covering a range of sectors to support businesses and citizens in preparing for Brexit. These are all available online at dfa.ie/Brexit. In its contingency communications which issued on 13 November and 19 December, the Commission outlined details of measures in a range of areas. These included financial services, aviation, road haulage, customs, climate policy, citizens' rights and data security.

Ireland has received support and solidarity from the EU and our fellow member states throughout the entire Brexit process and the negotiations. EU solidarity has been absolute from our fellow member states, for which we thank them. Many of my colleagues have come from Europe to visit Ireland and the Border region to gain a better understanding of the issues we face on this island. We have had their full and unwavering support every step of the way. We are also working very closely in particular with member states that face similar challenges to Ireland such as France, the Netherlands and Belgium, including on the use of the UK as a landbridge for goods moving to and from Ireland and continental Europe, and on how Irish goods can be processed as quickly as possible on arrival in EU ports after transiting through the UK.

The Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, earlier this week outlined to Government a comprehensive and co-ordinated set of preparations to ensure the continuity of supply of medicines and medical products in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Significant work has been under way in the Department of Health, the HSE, and the Health Products Regulatory Authority, HPRA, together with industry, to minimise and address any risks to continuity of supply. The HSE and HPRA have advised that the supply of a small number of medicines may be vulnerable for reasons such as their short shelf life, special storage and transportation requirements, and single supplier reliance. Plans are being made, progressed and implemented to protect the supply of critical medicines. The Department of Health, HSE and HPRA do not anticipate an immediate impact on medicine supplies should there be a no-deal Brexit on 29 March. There is no need for hospitals, pharmacists or patients to order additional quantities of medicines. By doing so, they could disrupt existing stock levels and hamper the supply of medicines for other patients, thereby unintentionally causing shortages.

On Tuesday the Government also received an update from the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, on the potential implications for east-west transport connectivity with the UK and our wider EU and international trading partners in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Our key focus at this time is on connectivity with the UK and on Ireland’s reliance on the UK landbridge for some €21 billion of trade with the EU. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport has examined the maritime capacity for direct sailings between Ireland and continental EU ports as a potential alternative for trade that currently takes place using the UK landbridge. Based on consultations with the shipping sector and wider stakeholders, the Minister’s preliminary assessment is that sufficient capacity will be available on direct routes to continental ports from the end of March 2019, and should demand for further capacity arise, the shipping sector can respond quickly to meet such demands.

It is welcome that as part of its own contingency planning, the European Commission has proposed temporary mitigation measures to ensure basic connectivity for flights between the EU and UK, as well as its proposals to facilitate the continuation of international road haulage between the EU and UK, in a no-deal scenario.

While our focus remains on securing the withdrawal agreement, it is only prudent that in parallel we are advancing our no-deal preparations for 29 March. We are under no illusions that a no-deal Brexit is a bad outcome for the UK, bad for the EU and certainly bad for Ireland. Our planning is focused on limiting the damage from that outcome as far as it is possible to do so by taking prudent, measured and practical steps on a range of key areas.

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