Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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194. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if the systems and procedures put in place at ports and airports to prepare for Brexit have been subjected to testing by external experts as of 31 October 2019; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45877/19]

Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent)
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In advance of a potential no-deal Brexit on 31 October 2019, works were carried out by the relevant State agencies, primarily at Dublin Port and Rosslare Europort, to ensure that the necessary infrastructure, systems and arrangements were in place to establish the additional controls required should the UK exit the EU, and to ensure optimal goods trade traffic flows through the ports.

Testing of the robustness of the proposed inter-agency arrangements by the relevant agencies was undertaken in advance of 31 October 2019 in addition to testing of traffic flows in Dublin Port. This work was carried out by the relevant agencies and also involved external parties. Inter-agency testing of IT systems was also undertaken by the relevant agencies in Rosslare Europort, and in conjunction with the Port and An Garda Síochána, the carrying out of a table top exercise for traffic flows within and external to the Port.

Contingency measures will be maintained over the coming months, including ongoing testing of the current arrangements, in light of a possible no-deal Brexit on 31 January 2020. An inter-department group, under the Chair of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, is in place to coordinate this work.