DUP Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs spokesperson, MP Carla Lockhart has accused the EU of having “double standards” as some seal border checks for Ireland have been suspended.
The Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) said it has suspended seal checks at the Port of Birkenhead due to increased traffic volumes caused by the ongoing closure of the Port of Holyhead.
Seal checks refer to a process where DAERA staff check the seal on a lorry for goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, these take place in Great Britain ports prior to boarding the ferry.
The link between north Wales and Ireland – remains closed following severe damage caused by Storm Darragh. The disruption is expected to last until mid-January, and as a result, ferry services have been re-directed to alternative ports.
Those same seal checks will now be performed on arrival in Northern Ireland on a temporary basis to ease traffic volumes.
MP Lockhart described the EU’s decision to suspend the checks as “totally hypocritical”, and said that is “unacceptable for the EU to ‘call the shots’” in Northern Ireland.
“For almost four years Northern Ireland has been cut-off from the rest of the United Kingdom, thanks to an EU-enforced de-facto border in the Irish Sea. Northern Ireland’s current post-Brexit situation is untenable,” MP Lockhart said.
Border checks
“The European Parliament in Brussels is a foreign jurisdiction, yet it legislates on over 300 areas of law which have a direct impact on our economy and agri-food industry.
“The nonsensical rules dreamt up by the EU have caused a number of significant and unresolved issues surrounding the movement of family pets, farm livestock, machinery, plants and veterinary medicines between Great Britain and Northern Ireland,” MP Lockhart added.
The MP said that the internal sea border between Scotland and Northern Ireland “causes problems on a daily basis” for local consumers and businesses.
“We have listened for the past number of years how necessary the checks are, yet when it is to benefit the republic of Ireland, the internal sea border can be very easily and quickly suspended when the EU sees fit,” Lockhart said.
DAERA stated that it has informed industry bodies and that it will work with industries to support them through these temporary arrangements.
