IRELAND\\\


UK EU exit ‘set to hit Irish exporters hard’


Exports to mainland Europe will be seriously hit by a ‘hard’ UK Brexit, according to a new member survey by the Irish Exporters Association (IEA). Some 88% said the UK leaving the Union would have a harmful effect on the Irish economy while 94% said it would hurt Irish exporters. Some 59% said it would have a harmful on their own companies. IEA’s chief executive Simon


McKeever, commented: “The statistics from this survey coupled with my trip to Brussels on 8-9 March reinforce the key points that the IEA are lobbying government and Brussels on, the likely very negative impact of a hard Brexit on our members and


how we as a country should prepare.” However, there is action that


could be taken to mitigate the effects, he continued including planning new direct shipping and air links to Europe and the rest of the world and to lobby strongly for as close as possible a trade relationship with the UK particularly in agri-food. It was also important


to ensure that companies consider the impact of a UK exit on all their input costs and start thinking about alternatives. However, he concluded: “The complexities that Brexit brings to Northern Ireland and all Ireland society and economy cannot be underestimated...It is not just our exports to the UK that will


be affected but our exports that transit through the UK to get to intercontinental Europe and further. Two-thirds of our members make use of the UK land-bridge to access continental markets, 40% said that use of slower direct route would adversely impact the quality of their product and 53% said that longer time supply chain would seriously impact inventory & other costs. “Even from an administrative


perspective, if you’ve only ever exported to the UK you’ve never had to deal with customs procedures before and training and upskilling staff should realistically start happening now as opposed to waiting until the chaos of implementation.”


Hard border and even harder questions


A ‘Brexit Seminar’ organised by the Irish International Freight Association (IIFA) in Dublin on 21 February provided the basis of a document


to advise the


Irish government, MEPs and Brussels on the industry’s views on the UK’s departure from the European Union. With the UK widely triggering


Article 5 to start the Brexit process, Fine Gael MEP for Ireland south and member of the European Parliament’s Transport Committee, Deirdre Clune anticipated some tough talking ahead. However, it wasn’t in Ireland’s interest that the UK should end up disadvantaged in any negotiations, as that would also be to the detriment of Ireland; the UK was Ireland’s biggest trading partner, she pointed out. She added that there were real


concerns for Ireland, including increased paperwork and


transport delays. Brexit also had implications for the TEN-T EU transport corridor from Belfast through Dublin and Cork to the Continent, she added. On 19 March, the Irish Taoiseach (prime minister) was due to unveil a new trade strategy for the country, which would emphasise the opportunities in ‘new’ European countries. She added: “We need to reduce


dependence on the UK.” Director-general of the British- Irish Chamber of Commerce, John McGrane echoed Deirdre Clune’s remarks, saying: “A bad outcome for the UK is bad for Ireland.” He also welcomed efforts


by the Irish state to encourage businesses to diversify and find new markets, to offset any possible reduction in the value of trade with the UK. People should be under no illusions, he continued. The UK


seemed hell-bent on ending up with a ‘hard Brexit” and that in turn meant a ‘hard border’ between the UK and Ireland. Suggestions that this could somehow be mitigated by technology were probably “Pie in the sky”. (The following day, Irish


prime minister Enda Kenny and European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker told journalists aſter a meeting in Brussels that they wanted the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland to be “as open as possible” aſter Brexit with no return to the hard border of the past – although without specifying how that could be achieved.) Moreover, Ireland’s land


border with the UK was not a normal one. Memories of the IRA border c am pai gn and ‘Bandit


18 >>


Three new 65 metre tall ship- to-shore container cranes manufactured


in Ireland by


Liebherr and assembled in Cork Harbour are scheduled for delivery to San Juan, Puerto Rico in March. The


cranes were moved


on board the Overseas Heavy Transport vessel ‘Albatross’, which has transferred from Cork


Issue 2 2017 - FBJ


17 Major move for Cork Harbour


Dockyard to the Deepwater berth in Ringaskiddy to take on ballast before departure to San Juan. The ‘Albatross shared the berth


with the weekly Maersk container service from Central America, bringing the overall length of both vessels alongside to 414 metres. Cork commercial manager Captain Michael McCarthy said


that Cork was “a Tier 1 port of national significance...We have had an excellent relationship with Liebherr since the early 1990s when we commissioned two cranes for our facility in Ringaskiddy. Since then we have grown our relationship with the company and all our port cranes are manufactured by Liebherr.”


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