Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I do not wish the Minister to respond to me, because I want to use my time to put a few points on the record. I ask that he take the points on board and, if he feels the needs to respond, he might do so in writing at a later time.

I was involved in the export business for many years. I am glad I am not involved in it now. I would respectfully suggest that until such time as we get through the Brexit teething problems, the Government needs to select and appoint, on a statutory basis, a supply chain general. It must be done on a statutory footing in order that the person appointed can have reach with all the relevant bodies, from Revenue and Customs and Excise through to the HSE and the Departments of Agriculture, Food and the Marine; Health; Enterprise, Trade and Employment; and Transport. Unless the individual appointed has that kind of reach, we are not going to make the kind of progress that we need. The Departments and bodies I have mentioned are not the supply chain but they are links in it. Without somebody with reach across each of them, we are inevitably going to end up with an exponential rise in transport costs throughout the country. I am sure Deputy Verona Murphy is a lot better qualified to make this case than I am and I am sure she will do so.

As things stand, the cost of customs duties alone is calculated by some of the larger haulage companies to be up to 8%. There is a suggestion and an anticipation that transport costs for exporters may go up by as much as 35% to 45% over the coming seven or eight months. The sorts of teething problems that are being endured by hauliers are having a huge impact. There seems to be a particular focus by hauliers on Dublin Port and the potential incompatibility of the IT systems there with the British side. Our colleagues in Northern Ireland face an awful situation with cliff edges looming in April and July. That will have implications for us as well. I appeal to the Minister to consider the appointment, on a statutory basis, of a supply chain general with reach across all the relevant Departments and agencies, starting with Customs and Excise and Revenue.

As the Minister will no doubt be aware, under the cross-border directive, a substantial number of people here in the South benefit from HSE funding or reimbursement for medical procedures in the North. We have a one-year unique replacement arrangement for Northern Ireland, after which the cross-border directive will cease to operate between North and South. Given the benefit of the existing arrangement to people in the Republic of Ireland, I appeal to the Minister to explore how we might come up with a longer-term or more permanent arrangement that goes on beyond this year.

Finally, I am being opportunistic in raising a Covid-related matter in which I believe the Minister could have a role. It concerns securing adequate supplies of vaccines for our population. The Minister for Health informed the House earlier today that everyone in Ireland will be vaccinated by the end of September. That is great news but I am interested to know how it will be done. The supply chain that is available to us and the vaccines that are available to us do not add up to meeting that sort of deadline. I very much hope that things will improve. I ask that we use our diplomatic channels to secure additional supplies. Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna all have facilities in this country, some of them very large ones. Let us start cashing in on that. These companies have benefited a lot from us over the years in terms of preferential taxation treatment. We would like a little more in return.

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