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FTAI urges Irish Government to ramp up No Deal plans

[ March 4, 2019   //   ]

The Irish government is unprepared for a No Deal Brexit scenario and the logistics industry will suffer as a result, warns FTA Ireland. The association has called on the government to urgently advance and clearly communicate its contingency plans for the haulage sector should the UK leave the EU without a deal.
FTAI general manager Aidan Flynn, said: “A No Deal Brexit would have a seismic impact on the UK’s trading environment and in turn, the freight distribution and logistics sector on both sides of the Irish Sea. If the UK leaves the EU without an agreement in place, it would cause major disruption to supply chains.”
Flynn pointed out that with over 60% of ambient food product consumed in Ireland coming from the UK, it was vital that enforcement authorities take a pragmatic approach to regulatory requirements.
However, with the UK set to leave the EU in four weeks’ time the industry was none the wiser as to how they are to conduct business and FTAI is calling on the government to provide detailed contingency plans on how it intends to prevent the risk of increased delays, red tape, and damage to business.
Flynn added: “FTA and its members are still waiting confirmation on how many veterinary inspectors will be trained and available to immediately commence work at 11pm on 29 March, in the event of a No Deal exit. In addition, business also waiting on the publication of traffic management plans to deal with the expected increase in traffic surrounding Ireland’s ports – both key issues which FTAI has been seeking clarification on for two years.”
He said that Dublin Port was of particular concern as there is currently no capacity for traffic to build in or out of the Dublin Tunnel in the event of congestion in the ports. The Road Safety Authority must decide what action to take when drivers were forced to exceed their working time and what welfare facilities were being made available for them.

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