Page 19 - Linkline Autumn 2016

Finally, reference need to be made to airborne international freight. In 2014, just 0.14 million tonnes of international freight travelled by air to and from Ireland (most of such freight is low volume and high value). Nearly 29 per cent went to and from the UK; the balance of nearly 71 per cent was with the rest of the world. These proportions for air traffic movements do not invalidate the conclusion that the proportion of overall traffic flowing via the UK to and from the rest of the world is quite considerable.
are introduced to handle customs and tariff requirements. With modern technology it should be possible to produce an adminis- trative mechanism that does not impose considerable burdens on exporters and importers.
This will be the challenge for Irish officials who will be negotiating with their UK counterparts in the context of Brexit. If Irish officials fail to succeed in convincing their UK counterparts that simpler ad- ministrative arrangements are possible, the possibility of additional costs for exporters and importers immediately arises. This is a key issue that must be addressed in any Brexit negotiations.
Conclusion
While the date of commencement of the Brexit project has yet to be declared, the Irish Government is advancing its plans for what should be on the Brexit agenda. Plans include the enhanced over- sight role of the Department of the Taoiseach, the strengthening of the EU policy role of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as well as the strengthening of other key departments, agencies and overseas missions. Having the right resources is one thing, ensuring that all of the necessary hard work is undertaken to make the best case for Ireland in a post-Brexit situation is another matter. One example of the hard work required is given in the foregoing analysis. That analysis shows that considerable work is required if an adminis- trative regime is to be produced (and agreed upon) for any customs and border controls in the future.
Tom Ferris is a consultant economist. He has also worked as a senior economist for the Department of Transport and is the former President of CILT.
Table 1: Ireland’s Seaborne Tonnage, 2015
to/from
mn tonnes
Share
UK Ports
19.5
40.4%
Other World Ports
28.8
59.6%
All-Ireland
48.3
100%
Source: CSO (Ireland)
Note: Exports and Imports in million tonnes
Table 2: All-Ireland Container movements, 2014
Units
Actual Share
Theoretical Share
Ireland
1496819
63.6%
80.0%
Northern Ireland
857472
36.4%
20.0%
All Ireland
2354291
100.0%
Source: CSO (Ireland)
Department for the Economy (Northern Ireland) *based on relative share of All-Ireland Gross
Domestic Product (GDP)
Customs and Border Controls
Following Brexit, the flows of Irish traffic via the UK face the pros- pect of custom/border checks to ensure their origin. This is likely to raise further costs and time delays unless old-style border posts are avoided and more imaginative administrative arrangements
The CharTered InsTITuTe of LogIsTICs & TransporT 19
BREXIT