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Northern Ireland\u2019s Agriculture Minister has halted construction of permanent inspection facilities for post-Brexit checks on agri-food goods arriving from Britain.<\/p>\nNorthern Ireland\u2019s Agriculture Minister has halted construction of permanent inspection facilities for post-Brexit checks on agri-food goods arriving from Britain.<\/p>\n
DUP minister Gordon Lyons has also stopped further recruitment of inspection staff for the port facilities and said charges would not be levied at the ports on traders bringing goods from Britain into Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
Ongoing Irish Sea trade checks, which are taking place at existing repurposed port buildings and other temporary facilities, will continue.<\/p>\n
Mr Lyons\u2019s decision relates to ongoing work on new purpose-built inspection facilities at ports like Belfast and Larne.<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in deputy First Minister Michelle O\u2019Neill branded the move a \u201cstunt\u201d.<\/p>\n
SDLP Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon questioned whether Mr Lyons could take the decisions without wider approval of the Stormont Executive.<\/p>\n
Mr Lyons told the PA news agency: \u201cI\u2019ve just let executive colleagues know that today I instructed my department to halt work on a range of issues relating to work at the ports.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is in and around a number of areas, first of all further infrastructure, any further infrastructure builds; the additional recruitment of staff; and also the charging at the ports.\u201d<\/p>\n
The decisions come amid the ongoing controversy over disruption caused by the Northern Ireland Protocol, which governs Irish Sea trade post-Brexit.<\/p>\n
Unionists are angry at the protocol\u2019s requirement for checks on many goods entering Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK.<\/p>\n
They claim it has driven an economic wedge between the region and Great Britain, and has undermined the Union as a result.<\/p>\n
Mr Lyons said his move was in response to the \u201cpractical difficulties\u201d caused by the protocol.<\/p>\n
He cited uncertainty over the movement of goods when grace periods currently limiting protocol bureaucracy end at the start of April.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s real nightmare for us and it\u2019s going to be causing us an awful lot of problems,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Lyons\u2019s Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs has been fulfilling the UK government\u2019s legal duty to construct the facilities under the terms of the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement\u2019s Northern Ireland Protocol.<\/p>\n
The minister\u2019s predecessor and DUP colleague Edwin Poots had also attempted to halt construction last year but stepped back from that position due to the legal obligations.<\/p>\n
Mr Poots instead distanced himself from the work and his senior officials took on responsibility for fulfilling the protocol obligations.<\/p>\n
It remained unclear on Friday night whether officials would again be required to proceed without Mr Lyons\u2019s approval.<\/p>\n
Mr Lyons cited UK domestic legislation \u2013 in the form of the Internal Market Act \u2013 in arguing he has \u201clegal duty\u201d to stop the work.<\/p>\n
He said that law compelled him to always act with special regard to Northern Ireland\u2019s place within the UK\u2019s internal market.<\/p>\n
Asked about his obligation to fulfil the UK\u2019s responsibilities under the Brexit international treaty, Mr Lyons insisted he was acting in a \u201creasonable and proportionate\u201d manner in response to the uncertainty around the protocol.<\/p>\n
The minister highlighted that the UK Government had acknowledged there were problems with the trading arrangements.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this is a reasonable and proportionate step to take,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Lyons said his officials have been warning him that the port control posts are unlikely to cope when the grace period exempting retail agri-food goods from EU export health certification ends on March 31st.<\/p>\n
He said supply chains into Northern Ireland were also unlikely to be able to hold up when the regulatory red tape increases in April.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe risk to Northern food supply in those circumstances will remain high so there\u2019s a lot of practical difficulties with all of this and that\u2019s causing us a huge amount of uncertainty,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The minister told PA there was need for the UK and EU to find \u201cpermanent solutions\u201d to the issues caused by the protocol.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a real concern to us heading towards the end of the grace period, so we need that certainty from the EU and the UK,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Ms O\u2019Neill criticized the move.<\/p>\n
\u201cPreviously, when the former DAERA Minister (Mr Poots) took a similar stance, his Permanent Secretary (Denis McMahon) took forward the Executive\u2019s responsibilities,\u201d she tweeted.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Protocol is a consequence of Brexit. The DUP championed Brexit & must own the consequences. Business and society need certainty, not stunts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Mallon tweeted: \u201cFollowing the deeply concerning memo from DUP Minister @gordonlyons1 on the ports, I have written to Executive colleagues calling for an urgent meeting of the Executive this evening. This decision is controversial, cross cutting & cannot be put into effect without Exec agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Lyons said the protocol needed to go.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy own point of view is I think the protocol needs to be scrapped, it is not working,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe evidence we have so far shows it\u2019s not working and it\u2019s only going to get worse at the end of the grace period.\u201d<\/p>\n