Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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541. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if the necessary infrastructure will be in place and ready to be operational at Dublin Airport and Dublin Port on 31 October 2019 in the event of a no-deal Brexit. [43402/19]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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The Government has preparations in place for a possible no-deal Brexit on 31 October 2019. In its Action Plan published in July 2019, the Government acknowledged that a no deal Brexit will be highly disruptive and will have profound implications across all aspects of society. It will be impossible for the UK to maintain the current seamless arrangements with the EU across the full range of sectors including transport connectivity, trade flows and supply chains.

The contingency plans in place, including in the transport sector, will mitigate but cannot eliminate the impacts of a no-deal Brexit.  The establishment of the additional controls at Dublin Port and Dublin Airport that would be required in a no deal Brexit scenario is being co-ordinated by an interdepartmental group under the chairmanship of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, with representation from a range of stakeholders across Government. The Office of Public Works has been tasked with delivering the required facilities for agriculture, health and customs checks at Dublin Airport and Dublin Port. In addition to this new infrastructure, new procedures have been implemented to facilitate trade.

Testing of the robustness of the proposed inter-agency arrangements by the relevant agencies is continuing.  In addition, the testing of traffic flows in Dublin Port is also underway. An inter-departmental group, under the Chair of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, is in place to coordinate this work.