Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for the question and for raising the issues. I also wish everyone a happy new year and may 2021 be better than 2020, in particular in respect of Covid-19. We sympathise with those who have lost someone, in particular most recently, as a result of Covid.

The Deputy's question relates essentially to the impact of Brexit. We have been very clear for quite some time that Brexit essentially means that the seamless trade between the European Union and Great Britain is a thing of the past. That is a reality. There will be delays at ports, as importing goods from Britain is now much more complex, as the Deputy has said. We are going from 2 million customs declarations to 20 million customs declarations. The UK has left the Single Market and the customs union and this creates additional burdens. There is also some evidence emerging that many UK companies were not as prepared as they could have been for the realities of Brexit and the various additional checks and controls. The State's agencies are working flat out and they are working together to try to ensure the checks and controls are completed as efficiently as possible. This is a 24-7 operation and more than 1,500 additional staff are working in the State agencies on this. We announced a number of new measures. The Deputy referenced the Ready for Customs support scheme. We are anxious that companies take this up. We have been trying to push for a greater number of applications and greater engagement with Enterprise Ireland on this particular scheme. Higher numbers could have been accommodated in it.

Hundreds of containers are getting through customs every day and the numbers are gradually increasing day on day. Two thirds of imports for businesses, which have engaged with the full suite of Revenue customs procedures, are being green routed directly out of the ports on arrival. Some are coming in without the paperwork correctly done and this is just the reality. People will have to adjust to the new realities that Brexit has brought about.

The key message we have for businesses is to work with Revenue and other agencies that are available to help them. There are regular meetings between Departments and stakeholders, including with retailers who are not reporting any major shortages. This afternoon, there will be a technical briefing, which the Deputy might be interested in, by officials for Oireachtas Members to deal with any queries Members receive. We know shipping operators have increased capacity on direct routes to Europe through Cherbourg, Dunkirk and Zeebrugge and Santander and ferry operators have also increased frequencies of sailings.

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