From Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
Published on
Last updated on
The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD, yesterday convened the 13th meeting of the Brexit Stakeholders Consultative Committee.
Minister Creed acknowledged that stakeholders’ attention has recently been focused on minimising and mitigating the impacts of COVID-19, but took the opportunity to remind them:
"to be mindful of, and focussed on, the imminent changes arising at the end of the transition period as a result of Brexit."
The Minister added:
"The meeting provided an opportunity to communicate to stakeholders on the state of play in the EU-UK negotiations and the Implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement, including the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland. Whatever the outcome of the ongoing EU-UK Future Partnership negotiations, trade will not be the same as it is today, and this will require considerable adjustment, particularly for businesses trading with Great Britain."
Department officials updated stakeholders in relation to the wide range of Brexit preparedness work that has been completed and on further ongoing work. Stakeholders were again encouraged to ask their members who trade with the UK to register with the department so that they will receive relevant information directly, and to register with Revenue to obtain an EORI number.
A further week-long round of negotiations between the UK and the EU will begin on 1 June, in advance of the EU-UK High Level Conference later that month, which will assess progress made at that point. The Minister and Government continue to believe that the EU negotiating mandate and draft legal text provided a generous and fair foundation on which a new EU-UK relationship can be built.
Officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and from Revenue, gave detailed updates and presentations on the current state of play in the EU-UK negotiations, and in relation to Rules of Origin, respectively.
Concluding, the Minister stated:
"I encourage stakeholders to ensure that their members continue their preparations to ensure that they are fully prepared to trade with the UK post-transition."
ENDS
Against the backdrop of COVID-19 and the ongoing EU-UK negotiations, a wide range of Brexit Preparedness work across government continues unabated. The European Commission continues to publish and update Brexit readiness notices to help public administrations, businesses and citizens prepare for the technical changes that the end of the transition period will bring. These are available on the Commission website and the DAFM website at: ec.europa.eu/info/european-union-and-united-kingdom-forging-new-partnership/future-partnership/getting-ready-end-transition-period_en. and the DAFM website at: www.agriculture.gov.ie/brexit/preparingforbrexit/futurerelationship.
Communications channels with and from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in relation to Brexit planning include the following:
Brexitcall email address: Brexitcall@agriculture.gov.ie
Brexit registrations email: Brexitregistration@agriculture.gov.ie
Call Centre Number: 076-1064443
Website: www.agriculture.gov.ie/brexit
Specific Trader Notices: Being sent by the department to stakeholders and being put on the DAFM website
The latest practical advice from the government will be hosted on the government’s main website, gov.ie. This central website will be kept updated with the latest information.