Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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57. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will provide an update on his Department's interaction with the British Government on the 30 April implementation of new Brexit-related customs checks on EU goods using Britain as a land bridge; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20538/24]

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Will the Tánaiste provide an update on his Department's interaction with the British Government with regard to the 30 April implementation of the new Brexit-related customs checks on EU goods using Britain as a land bridge, and will he make a statement on the matter? It is that issue that has been brought up in the past while regarding interactions with the British Government on a whole pile of issues. It was the Tánaiste's former party leader and former Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, who said it at an EU affairs committee meeting. He spoke about the fact that during his time, and we all know we have all gone through Brexit, there was a huge amount of interactions between officials. I think we find that, between here and Britain, that is not the case at this time. The Tánaiste might give me an update.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Officials from across Government have been engaging with their British counterparts since last autumn on the introduction by the United Kingdom of its post-Brexit import controls. Britain remains a significant market for Irish exports, especially for agrifood, so ensuring a smooth transition for businesses has been a constant Government priority. I am glad to report that the transition to the first phase of new UK controls at the end of January went broadly well, thanks largely to the level of engagement and preparation by all Irish stakeholders across the supply chain, including through the Brexit stakeholder forum, which I chaired earlier this year.

The 30 April phase saw the introduction of physical checks on European Union goods going into Great Britain, with the exception of goods from Ireland. While Irish exports to Britain are not impacted in this phase, Irish operators sending goods under transit across the United Kingdom land bridge are currently adapting to the new requirements. Irish officials have been engaging with their British counterparts to ensure they understand the importance of the United Kingdom land bridge for Irish traders and that they take a pragmatic approach to the introduction of the new controls.

I have discussed these issues on a number of occasions with my British counterparts, who fully recognise the importance of our two-way trade in goods and have agreed to work collaboratively with us to ensure a continued smooth trading relationship. We will continue to engage with the British authorities, particularly around the introduction of physical checks on goods from Ireland, which we understand will take place in spring 2025. We will, of course, continue to engage with Irish stakeholders, as we have throughout Brexit, to support them in adapting to the new trading environment.

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the fact there seems to be a significant amount of interaction in dealing with this. I also welcome the Tánaiste's own interactions with regard to all the stakeholders. Can I take from his answer that, at this time, he does not foresee any major issues with regard to this particular implementation and that if there are, we have sufficient facility to deal with it? We all know the issue and, in fairness to the Government here and businesses across this island, Brexit was something that was forced upon us. It is a reality we have to deal with.

I have a wider question, and that relates to official interactions with the British Government on those numerous issues. We all know what has happened with the issue of migration, and it probably was not that helpful that it played out in the public domain in the way it did. As I said, it was the issue that was brought up by Bertie Ahern at the EU affairs committee. He said he believed there were a lot more official interactions during his time and that was able to deal with some of these issues before they would necessarily blow up in the way we have seen recently.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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So far, the transition to the latest phase of controls seems to have gone well. There have been no reports of delays or congestion impacting Irish land bridge movements through Britain's east coast ports. We remain vigilant, however, because the longer term impacts of the new controls on Irish business and trade patterns will take some time to emerge. We will continue to engage with stakeholders.

The controls introduced at the end of January did represent a significant change to the way Irish businesses export to Britain, especially agrifood businesses. Since the end of January, Irish businesses exporting to Britain need to make customs declarations for consignments in advance of sending their goods. If they are exporting medium or high-risk SPS goods, which includes agrifoods, they must also pre-notify each consignment on the UK SPS import system, and in some cases obtain an export health certificate from the relevant competent authority in Ireland.

To date, we have not seen a significant change overall in exports to Britain as a result of these specific changes, but it is early days and we are continuing to monitor trade patterns very carefully given the importance of the British market for Irish exports, especially in agrifood. We have a Brexit stakeholders' consultation group, which I met with only very recently, and we meet on a regular basis to take stock of this. Our officials are constantly in touch as well.

Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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It is obviously absolutely necessary that the work of this consultation group and all those other stakeholders would take place. We need to make sure we allow for the free flow of goods as easily as possible, with all the difficulties Brexit has caused. We know a huge amount of effort has been put in, particularly at this end, from the point of view of ensuring mitigations. The European Union has been very good in the solidarity it has shown to Ireland.

However, we will constantly have issues as long as the Border remains in Ireland. There has to be a huge piece of work carried out by this Government in making preparations for possible constitutional change. I do not think it would shock the Tánaiste that I would say that. Even beyond that, when we are talking about the European Union, I think we welcome the support. That is the support that was provided by Ursula von der Leyen, but I do not think it gets her off the rap regarding her support for a genocidal Israeli regime.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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In the run-up to the introduction of import controls, all relevant Departments engaged directly with affected Irish stakeholders, especially in the agrifood, transport, ferry and port sectors through webinars, meetings, training and online briefing materials. Government veterinary inspection services, in particular the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, made extensive preparations to facilitate the increase in demand for export health certificates. This included intensive engagement by local veterinary supervisory teams with individual food businesses exporting to GB. We had specific engagements with the Irish Exporters Association and the Irish Business and Employers Confederation. I chaired a meeting of the Brexit stakeholder forum in January, which focused on the new UK requirements. In addition, the Government ran extensive communications on radio and in print and a social media campaign throughout December and January to make sure all affected traders in Ireland were aware of the new UK requirements.