{"id":3523,"date":"2018-10-16T12:31:23","date_gmt":"2018-10-16T17:31:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=3523"},"modified":"2018-10-18T09:32:51","modified_gmt":"2018-10-18T14:32:51","slug":"ireland-preparing-ports-and-airports-for-no-deal-brexit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=3523","title":{"rendered":"Ireland Preparing Ports And Airports for No Deal Brexit"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Ireland is stepping up preparations for physical infrastructure at ports and airports after Brexit, the Taoiseach said.<\/p>\n

Ministers held detailed discussions in Dublin on Tuesday surrounding the hiring of customs officers and veterinary inspectors as well as the upgrading of IT systems.<\/p>\n

They have held a series of workshops for businesses aimed at getting Ireland Brexit-ready and earmarked money in next year\u2019s budget.<\/p>\n

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar updated the Dail on negotiations and said: \u201cI cannot say at the moment that decisive progress has been made, but that is something that will play out over the next couple of days in Brussels, and a decision will be made whether or not to have a November summit when we can determine whether that is necessary \u2013 we won\u2019t be having a summit for the sake of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

European leaders head to Brussels for the European Council on Wednesday in what Sinn Fein is branding a \u201ccrunch\u201d summit, with no agreement on the Irish border backstop.<\/p>\n

Mr Varadkar\u2019s political rival, Irish Labour Party leader Brendan Howlin, has said a \u201cvery dangerous\u201d suggestion is being made in Europe that the backstop issue should be postponed or deferred.<\/p>\n

We are stepping up our preparations for that scenario and we had a detailed discussion at Cabinet today on Brexit and on those discussions and that does include the hiring of customs officials, veterinary inspectors<\/p>\n

The Taoiseach has not ruled out Britain crashing out of the EU without an agreement next March.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cWe are stepping up our preparations for that scenario and we had a detailed discussion at Cabinet today on Brexit and on those discussions and that does include the hiring of customs officials, veterinary inspectors.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt includes preparing legislation, it includes IT systems and includes preparations to install physical infrastructure at our ports and airports, but not along the land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic.\u201d<\/p>\n

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