Written answers

Thursday, 14 February 2019

Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport

Brexit Preparations

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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223. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his attention has been drawn to plans to extend alternative routes for businesses in counties Cork and Kerry to prevent travel through the UK and instead provide direct routes to France by air or by sea; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7465/19]

Photo of Shane RossShane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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I am not aware of plans to extend alternative routes for businesses in Cork and Kerry nor am I aware of any plans to prevent travel through the UK.

However, given Ireland’s reliance on the UK as a landbridge for the transport of many of our exports and imports to and from continental markets, I am very concerned that in the context of Brexit this route may face congestion particularly at ports such as Dover and Calais. While such travel would not be prevented, it may become unviable for Irish businesses.

The landbridge is currently our fastest maritime route to continental Europe and is relied upon by many Irish exporters and importers, particularly for the transport of time-sensitive products, such as those in the agri-food/perishable goods sector, just-in-time and high value goods. Delays or congestion on this route as a result of Brexit may result in Irish businesses opting to instead transport goods on direct maritime or air routes to France and indeed to many other countries, if those goods are suitable for transport on such routes.

As the Deputy has referred specifically referred to direct routes to France, I wish to point out that I met my French counterpart, Minister Elisabeth Borne, on Brexit matters in Dublin on 23 November 2018. At the meeting, I highlighted the importance of transport connectivity and Ireland’s concerns in relation to the continued use of the UK landbridge post Brexit. We discussed also the potential implications for ports both in Ireland and in France given the levels of trade that both of our countries have with the UK. Minister Borne shared many of my concerns and said that France, like Ireland, was preparing for all scenarios, including facilitation of EU and Irish traffic at Calais.

However, I want to stress that the UK landbridge will remain a very important route for Irish businesses to access other markets. At official level, the Landbridge Project Group, chaired by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and including officials from my own Department, the Revenue Commissioners, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, and others has been working closely with the European Commission and other affected Member States (France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Denmark and Sweden) with a view to preparing EU ports to facilitate the transit of EU products through the UK once it becomes a third country through the use of EU rules on internal transit set out under the Union’s Custom Code.

A cross-departmental delegation of officials including from my Department also travelled to France in November of last year for meetings on Brexit preparedness. The need for French ports to facilitate the movement of Irish trucks transiting the UK was discussed.

Irish officials also met with the European Commission for technical consultations on the landbridge in December 2018.

The Government will continue to work with our French counterparts, other EU Member States and the European Commission in seeking to ensure that the landbridge can continue to be an effective route for our businesses trading with the rest of the EU Single Market.

Separately, a number of representatives from French ports have travelled to Ireland to meet with Irish port representatives on a number of occasions and most recently in January of this year.

My Department has assessed the maritime capacity for direct sailings between Ireland and continental EU ports as a potential alternative route for trade currently using the landbridge. Based on consultations with the shipping sector and wider, the preliminary assessment is that sufficient capacity will be available on direct routes to continental ports from end March 2019 and businesses throughout Ireland will be able to choose to transport goods on these routes. Furthermore, shipping services are market driven and ferry operators have in the past responded to economic developments and increased or decreased capacity in response to these developments.

There have already been responses from the shipping Companies. CLdN launched a new 234m Ro-Ro freight ferry, the M.V. Celine, with a capacity of 8,000 lane metres on the Rotterdam-Zeebrugge-Dublin route in October 2017. The Port of Cork saw the addition of a new route in May 2018 with Brittany Ferries’ commencing the service to Santander and Roscoff with the Connemara. Irish Ferries is deploying its new cruise ferry the W B Yeats on the Dublin-Cherbourg route. The Company has also ordered a second larger ship at the cost of €165m for delivery in 2020 which will further increase its freight capacity.

In relation to air routes, there is existing airfreight capacity from Ireland to other (non-UK) markets, although this means of transport is significantly more costly than transporting goods by sea. Airfreight tends to be used for the transport of high value, low volume goods.

Photo of Micheál MartinMicheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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224. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he has undertaken a review of alternative routes other than from Dublin and Rosslare for businesses to enter the EU market directly in the event of there being a hard Brexit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7467/19]

Photo of Shane RossShane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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Dublin and Rosslare ports handle almost all of Ireland’s Roll-on / Roll-Off (“RoRo”) traffic destined for the UK market or using the UK landbridge. As such these ports, and shipping services from these ports, will remain of crucial importance to Ireland in the event of a hard Brexit.

My Department has examined the maritime capacity for direct sailings between Ireland and continental EU ports as a potential alternative route for trade currently using the Landbridge. Based on consultations with the shipping sector and wider, the preliminary assessment is that sufficient capacity will be available on direct routes to continental ports from end March 2019.

My Department has also established that there is capacity in ports other than Dublin and Rosslare that could be of some assistance in the event of a hard Brexit. The main spare capacity available in 2019 is in relation to Lift-on/ Lift -off (LO-LO), in particular at the ports of Waterford, Shannon Foynes, and Cork, and for bulk, rather than in respect of Roll-on / Roll-off traffic. However, shipping services are market driven and I believe that ferry operators will respond to economic developments and increase or decrease capacity from particular ports in response to market developments. There have already been responses from the shipping companies adding additional freight capacity on direct sailings to the continent, for example, the Port of Cork saw the addition of a new route in May 2018 with Brittany Ferries’ commencing the service to Santander and Roscoff with the Connemara, whose capacity is 27,414 GT.

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