Richard O'Donoghue (Limerick County, Independent) | Oireachtas source

This is only one example of an oversight. I was horrified but not surprised to see that on 24 November 2020 we had discovered, by chance, it seems, that there was a major export food problem with sausages and mince going to the UK. The current health certificate was only for frozen produce and had to be amended for fresh produce. I wish to remind the Minister of State that the UK is leaving on 1 January. Bord Bia dismissed this by saying the body had a plan. Have we got a plan?

Last week I spoke to the hauliers about their difficulty at the ports. Again, it was said that we have a plan. Thanks to the ferry companies, we have seen that Irish products are for a worldwide stage. They see the importance of having Ireland on these stages with the extra ferries being supplied.

Yet, it is still not enough. In 2019, UK exports to Ireland were worth £38.3 billion. Imports from Ireland were worth £24.4 billion. Some 37% of our food exports go to the UK. In total, €4.5 billion is the value of our food and drink exports to the UK and €4.5 billion goes to Europe on the land bridge.

Today, I call on the Taoiseach and the Minister of State to engage with the agencies like Bord Bia to make them accountable. We are only hearing about these restrictions at a late stage. Farming lobby groups like the IFA, Macra na Feirme and the ICMSA have come to me on many occasions expressing fear for their livelihoods and the future of their families in rural Ireland. There are 137,500 farms in Ireland and 75% of produce is mainly meat product. What exactly is going on in Ireland? A statement about the need to change export licences to be able to export to the UK sounds like last-minute talk. Are we ready for Brexit? I do not think so.

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