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NOBODY SAID IT would be easy, but one week into the new post-Brexit customs and trade arrangements between the European Union and Britain and already, issues are beginning to crop up.
We haven’t seen anything like the chaos that some people were expecting this week.
But a couple of developments have raised red flags.
Earlier today, Stena Line said that it cancelled twelve ferries between Ireland and Britain due to sail before 12 January.
Citing a combination of Covid-related public health restrictions and new Brexit requirements, the Irish ferry operator said it had observed a decline in both passenger and freight volumes since 1 January.
So what else happened this week and can we expect things to get worse as the new year begins in earnest?
Port traffic and delays
So far, we haven’t had too much of an issue with Brexit-related delays and traffic build-up at Irish ports.
In fact, earlier this week, Dublin Port confirmed that only an “extremely small” number of Irish trucks travelling to the UK have been rejected for having incorrect documentation.
On the other side of the equation, there were only some minor delays for hauliers who did not complete the correct paperwork upon arrival in Ireland from Holyhead.
Revenue gave a stern warning that many businesses “were not as prepared as they thought or significantly underestimated what was involved in being Brexit ready”.
Generally, the first week in January can be a quiet time of the year; New Years Day is said to be the second quietest day of trading of the year. This coupled with pre-Brexit stockpiling by businesses means the ports haven’t been quite as busy as they might be next week or later in the year.
At a Brexit briefing in December, Eddie Burke from the Department of Transport was asked how long it could take for traders to get used to new post-Brexit checks and systems. His answer was that we just don’t know.
But the potential for sudden delays is ever-present, given the new processes and checks that have to be done on goods, particularly on goods entering Ireland from the UK.
“Customs and other regulatory checks take time — and some take longer amounts of time than others,” as Revenue Commissioner Gerry Harrahill explained last week.
These aren’t new processes — Irish authorities have been carrying them out on goods coming from ‘third countries’ for years.
But they’ve never been applied to UK goods until now, meaning the overall volume of imports that have to be checked increased basically overnight on 1 January.
Agricultural and food products travelling from the UK into Ireland will have to be checked to ensure they meet European safety standards.
Plant and animal products coming from Britain will have to travel with a health certificate signed by a UK vet and official identity seal.
Farm equipment will have to be checked to make sure it’s not contaminated with soil.
If they don’t have their ducks in a row upon arrival, the consignments can be rejected or unloaded and the individual boxes checked.
So it’s been a quiet week but as Tom Talbot, head of Revenue’s operations at Dublin Port, said this week, “There will be delays as traffic builds but we are confident we can minimise the disruption.”
Post and deliveries
One of the most immediately tangible consequences of Brexit is the extra red tape and costs associated with sending items by post to and from Britain.
Although Brexit hasn’t affected the flow of letters between the two islands or between the North and south of Ireland, Irish VAT now applies on goods from British retailers that cost more than €22.
Additional Customs documentation is also required for parcels sent from the UK to Ireland. Customs fees also apply to some purchases above €150.
Before Christmas, An Post confirmed that customers will have to deal with these extra charges at checkout or, alternatively, through An Post’s website or in a post office.
But extra red tape is already causing trouble for some.
Courier company DPD Britain announced today that it will freeze its road delivery services from the UK to Europe, including Ireland, until next Wednesday, 13 January to review its processes.
In a statement, the parcel delivery company said, “It has now become evident that we have an increased burden with the new, more complex processes, and additional customs data we require from you for your parcels destined to Europe. This has placed extra pressure on our turnaround and transit times.
“We are seeing up to 20% of parcels having incorrect or incomplete data attached, these will have to be returned to you so that the required data can be provided.
“In addition to this we are seeing delays and congestion at UK ports and more rigid requirements for channel crossings.”
But An Post has confirmed that it is trading “fully and smoothly” with almost all of the UK online retailers who deliver to Ireland.
“While some delays should be expected due to UK retailers bedding in their new data requirements prior to shipping, the majority of items dispatched through the An Post digital systems are released for immediate delivery on arrival into Ireland,” it said.
Food supplies
A number of pictures shared this week of empty shelves in Irish Marks & Spencer stores had prompted concerns that post-Brexit changes would limit food supplies, at least temporarily.
But the problem seems only to affect M&S at the moment; other supermarkets may have stockpiled items, as pre-31 December queues at the Port of Dover seem to suggest.
A spokesperson for Tesco Ireland said “there is no need for customers to change their shopping habits” at the moment.
“We have seen a slight increase in demand for products over recent days due to Covid restrictions but overall availability is good with plenty of stock to go round,” he said.
Marks & Spencer, however, admitted that swapping to a new post-Brexit system meant that it was taking “a little longer” for products to reach its stores, and it is working to resolve the issue.
There are other issues agreed under the EU-UK trade deal that may cause different problems, as CEO of Marks & Spencer Steve Rowe explained today:
“Percy Pig is actually manufactured in Germany. If it comes to the UK and we then send it to Ireland, in theory it would have some tax on it.”
This means that Percy Pig packets may no longer be available in Ireland, or be more expensive to buy here.
The Newsletter revealed today that in Northern Ireland, Marks & Spencer is temporarily withdrawing hundreds of items from sale as a result of the new customs arrangement under the Irish Protocol.
Here's the full list of M&S products temporarily withdrawn from sale in Northern Ireland because of the Irish Sea border - from bin bags, Brewdog, and Buddha bowls to vegan sausage rolls, Walter the Sausage Dog Easter eggs and dog food. pic.twitter.com/LH3NSuKYMf
— Sam McBride (@SJAMcBride) January 8, 2021
The limitations on travel from the UK because of the new Covid-19 variant has also had an effect on imports into Ireland, it is understood.
Aidan Flynn, General Manager of the Freight Transport Association of Ireland said that it has been more difficult to get goods into the country rather than out.
The problems are mainly arising, Flynn says, from the new ‘safety and security’ requirements, which document which goods are on what trailer. This information is mandatory to get a pre-boarding number that allows trucks to board ferries.
The problem is further compounded by a communications issue – a different part of the business might be asked for additional information, meaning hauliers might not know why they’re not being let through ports.
He said that it didn’t help that a political deal was done on 24 December, a few days before the new systems came online at 11pm on 31 December.
“There was no transition, they didn’t provide anybody with time. The new system came online at 11pm on 31 December, and it wasn’t available for testing beforehand – so the learning is in real-time.”
He said that the new system was a shock” and that it will take time to come to terms with that: “It’s as close to a hard Brexit as anyone would have thought”.
Fine Gael TD Neale Richmond said that Brexit preparation was about being prepared for what you can control, but “we can’t control what happens in Great Britain”.
Richmond says the Government must begin to look at alternative routes to Europe, noting that the first four new ferry departures from Rosslare to Dunkirk had sold out.
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What is never mentioned in the media is that Michael Martin and his party bankrupted this country with no growth for 10 years. Had to beg for money from the IMF. All because of their housing policy, etc I haven’t forgotten has any one else ?
@Jimmy Donovan: FG would have done exactly the same if they had been in government.
Their 2007 election manifesto was similar to FF except they also promised to scrap the introduction of eircodes
@Thomas Sheridan: They also wanted to reduce stamp duty which would’ve put more money in developers pockets. Same party different name
@Eddie Garvey: The dogs in the streets know FFG are one party. By calling it two, they get twice the jollies!
@Jimmy Donovan: I haven’t forgotten about Sf screaming across the dail that every type of spending should be increased because ‘the country is awash with money’…..we would have been in a way worse situation if that lot have have been in…..I haven’t forgotten about that any one else?
@John Paul: SF hasn’t spent one cent of government money in this country. Each man, woman, and child currently ows 43k per person. Interest on this is 14 million euros per day.
@Jimmy Donovan: have a read of this article from 2001 by Greg Palast. The interview & verified documents are from Joseph Stiglitz, former chief economist of the World Bank.
If people think FF or FG or any other political party, in Ireland, have been running Ireland for the last 67-70 years, they’re sadly mistaken.
@Mr Inbetween: maybe read the linked article before stating “facts”
Ireland has not been an independent country since joining the EEC
@Jimmy Donovan: Public Sector greed also had a lot to do with the Government going bust back in the day.
@John Paul: must look for your comment on the childrens hospital article.
What I would love to know is how such a huge gap between housing required and actual supply has been allowed to develop
We now have a census every 5 years & we have known since the 1990s that the population is going up.
Back in simpler times it would have somebody’s job to ensure enough housing was being built
Now we are tripping over ourselves with experts and reports, but nobody puts their hand up on such a fundamental issue.
And is if that’s not enough we learn that E 1 billion a year is now being spent on accommodation for asylum seekers
This is not a formula for a happy contented country
@Gerry Kelly: the gap is there because it is a controlled market, and those influencing control are interested in making the biggest profit possible from each unit (developers) aided by incompetent govt and govt who are completely competent but rigging the whole thing for their benefit (they or their close allies are in the property game)
@Eddie Garvey: 100% exactly what I’ve been saying for years. The public are being hoodwinked by a combination of the banks/government/media and developers for the last 10 years approx. The shortages of ‘to buy’ and more recently ‘to rent’ is by design and will end in disaster for Joe soaps nationwide
@Gerry Kelly: Building stopped completely in 2008 but the population kept growing.
@Mick Duvanny: and they conveniently forgot to do their job of constructing social housing since ?
Over 1 billion spent on asylum seekers last year.
More than half of new PPS numbers in Ireland were issued to people from outside the EU last year.
Non nationals account for 36% of those in long term Job Seekers Allowance. 90% rise from 2019.
Highest number of working visas for Australia issued to young Irish people in 2023 since the height of the crash in 2009. Never mind all the Irish going to work in Canada, UK, Dubai etc.
We are a small country on the western edge of Europe. We cannot take all these people whilst our own leave. This is population replacement before our very eyes.
6 murders in 6 weeks all involving foreign nationals.
Ireland doesn’t have a housing problem. Ireland has an immigration problem
@JagTune: Exactly right
@JagTune: very well said. Be ready to be called all sorts of names including racist just because you point the reality.
@Mr “JonnieBoy” Johnson: Do you really care if the race-baiters call you names?
@Housing Hunger Games: this is the same public that voted in Martin and Harris on a first count ,I wouldn’t put alot of stock in the brain power of the Irish voting public at the minute.
Fact is we have a massive problem,these people are not like the polish who all appeared at the start of the boom,they have no intention of working in factories or building sites,massive dole merchants and feck all else
Brown field sites could be brought into use overnight if the political will was there, we saw during covid how quickly things can be done with emergency legislation.
Didn’t they say that the last time and the time before that and the time before that.
all fine and well but will Lowry approve
@Gerry Ryan: depends on if he can sell a discounted property to his kids through a shelf company. Sorry, that was some Lowrey guy, I get confused sometimes
@Gerry Ryan: Depends if he has an interest in it, like the LIDL that was built during Covid when not one house was allowed to be built.
After engorging themselves with salary increases.
What about easing the co.councils ban on mobile a nd chalet type homes in large gardens in country? Remember the man Tipperary Council took to court for housing himself in one…on his own land He is not the only one. Recently the same to man who housed his relations in Limerick. Many could house a son or daughter in their instead of them paying huge rents,miles away from elderly parents
@Helena Camella Cummins: There is no land in this country that the state doesn’t own, read the constitution and he didn’t bother getting plannjng permission, the part that a lot like to forget. I mean that is the first thing to do before building anything.
Housing for all is nonsense. No country can house 8 billion people
So we’ll have a 5k fine with near zero enforcement. Given the money to be made in short term lets, this will just be seen as a cost/liability and ignored
This is just the same meaningless talking in circles around the issue of housing as always, while actually doing nothing to solve it.
The brass neck of these absolute muppets and the contempt that they show to the people of Ireland beggers belief. They now say that they need time to draft a plan to deal with the housing crisis and a response to it????
They are acting like they didn’t just spend 4 years in government supposedly addressing the exact same housing crisis????
But now they say that have to start from square one, and the people of Ireland are going to just swallow this rubbish all over again?
Nobody likes the idea of lazy people that don’t want to work ever, getting low cost social housing while milking the system, but we are beyond that as a nation.
Because families in which both people are working full-time cannot afford a place to live, those people need access to social housing now, but its not only them, young people are facing the prospect of being homeless or under threat of homelessness regardless of how hard they work to build a future for themselves, older people on pensions are also struggling to pay for accommodation, is this what we want our government to deliver to the people of the country, more excuses, grand plans that deliver nothing and meaningless soundbites?
There is only one answer to the housing crisis, building social housing now on a massive scale.
Same course of action that crashed the economy as that’s there only plan. Protect their business lobbyists friends that roll up every year that control the land banks
I would recommend more tax breaks for the buyers and keep tax breaks for the developers. What would I know, I’m not on a TDs salary and live in the real world.
“Housing for all plan”…heard that years ago…yaaaaaaaaawn.
Yet again our so called Government and opposition are so full of sh**.
Keep it simple – no short term letting without Planning Permission . Enforce it correctly with huge fines for owner and operators like Air B&B and Booking.com. – this means the sector will settle down and inflated prices all round will be more controlled!
FG is
FG
Stop talking and DO something radical, that does NOT mean cancel the RPZs, bring in much tighter controls so that our own citizens can afford to live properly.
have your say