Is Ireland preparing for a 'no-deal'?

[Ifailed]

A quick question to our Irish friends, if there's a no deal brexit, and hence a possibility of disruption to the movement of fresh food from Europe to the UK, does Ireland have any plans?
It might be a daft question as I don't know how much fresh produce destined for Ireland travels via the UK - does it all come via ferry from Roscoff?

Ireland has done far more prep for Brexit than the UK it seems - grants or loans to small businesses to help them prepare going back months now. A new ferry (the largest of its type in the world I think) on a route to mainland Europe that doesn't include the UK. It's also one of the most food secure countries around I think.

So, yes, Ireland will be screwed, but they have actually done their best to prepare.

The government has been running free conferences around the country for businesses for the last year and a half explaining what they have to do to prepare. There are also a number of grants available as the previous poster said.

Ireland produces more food than it consumes.

Ireland is one of the most food secure nations on earth. Way ahead of the UK.

We also produce quite a lot of drugs and essentials like baby formula.

The Irish economy will definitely take a medium term hit but won’t face the same stockpiling issues as the UK.

Also the Irish government realized even before the referendum that NI would be a major issue and found realized pretty quickly afterwards how unrealistic the UK govt were. They don’t want a No Deal but have always known it is a possibility.

I agree that Ireland , while obviously not welcoming No Deal, is better placed to deal with it.
It hasn't had to worry about offending sensitive Leavers by avoiding talk of No Deal in case tbe Brexit fairies flew away. Same with the rest of the E.U.
No deal hurts everyone but it hurts the UK far more than it hurts Ireland.

Also Europe is signaling its support for Ireland. Today €300m in soft Liam’s from the European Investment Bank to Irish businesses needing to diversify away from U.K. markets.

A stepping up in the France Ireland energy pipeline.

Everything that pp have said. We've been working since before the vote in case of this outcome.

Also personally, in case there is a disruption to food etc getting in we've prepped here (massive thanks to @bellinisurge . Way more than BIL in London but that's another story..

You are welcome @RuggerHug

I'm stocking up on things that come from the UK and EU as I assume things will take longer to come all the way by sea, and I want to avoid not having things I usually have.

I'm guessing prices will rise because transport will cost more.

And this is what it looks like when the grown ups are in charge.

🍀

What is Ireland going to do about the border with a no deal?

Are we stock piling in ROI? I had thought prices will rise but I didn’t think we’d run out of anything.

I don’t have a good enough grasp on all of this Brexit ND stuff.

I was more worried about the border and the troubles starting again. Is the GFA just ignored now because of all this? It’s all very scary.

What is Ireland going to do about the border with a no deal?

They're preparing their ports and airports.

They are not making any preparations for a land border with NI. They have said they will rely on the assurances given to them by EU and UK and have hinted that essentially the UK will have to agree another form of the backstop in the even of no deal to avoid a border they swear they don't want.

Thanks - what about fresh fruit & veg? Last time I was in Tralee I went to Dunnes and a Tesco - they seemed to have the same selection of salad stuff etc. I'd expect in the UK, most of which is grown in mainland Europe. Is there talk about problems getting that sort of stuff in?

the reality is we are highly dependant on the UK land-bridge for imports and exports, and if there are delays there, it will have a significant impact on the supply chain and economic activity. This is a good article: www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/putting-brexit-to-the-test-on-the-road-with-a-trucker-from-dublin-to-germany-1.3700114
We will have shortages as fruit and veg go rotten whilst sitting in trucks

Thanks, Elephant10. Sadly, it's what I expected.

But we have the brexit buster ferry, largest in the world.
We have increased the size of our ports and hired extra staff to man them.

The British border isn't anything to with us so we don't need to do anything with it.

I am happy enough we will survive just fine

"We have increased the size of our ports and hired extra staff to man them."

Ireland relies on UK infrastructure.. One ferry isn't going to make a difference when your port capacity as a whole is woefully inadequate for your needs post brexit. :)

The "brexit buster ferry" is set-up to transport goods etc between Dublin and the UK. A no deal could lead to disruption between the UK and Europe of perishable food, with hold ups at Calais and Dover. You could build a bridge between the two islands, it won't held the potential problem at the Channel crossings.

Spinflight you sound almost pleased about the notion that Ireland may suffer as a consequence of Brexit.
Why would you wish your neighbour ill?

I read an interesting thought about Ireland and Brexit yesterday - can't remember where.

For Ireland the desire for no border is about more than economics - it's about security and social cohesion. In that context, the Irish essentially have two choices: they can abandon the backstop, leaving them exposed to a hard border in future, or they can stand behind the backstop in the expectation that the UK blinks.

Both choices potentially deliver a hard border, but only the backstop delivers a guarantee of no border.

Put this way it's easier to understand why Ireland is prepared to go the distance even at substantial economic risk.

Ireland will face shortages and difficulties in the event of a no deal Brexit but we are more food secure that Britain. We may not have lettuce and avocados but we will have enough food.

IIRC Ireland produces more food than it requires by quite some distance. Obviously it does import food (things it can't grow) but it could feed itself and several other small EU states.

"Why would you wish your neighbour ill?"

No malice intended to my neighbours, though.... the role and attitude of the Irish government is rather perplexing.

Ministers being caught in live microphone talking about them erecting a hard border etc...

Mistigri Ireland certainly is a net exporter of food, but still imports a lot of fresh fruit and veg, as I said a quick look down the fresh veg/fruit aisle in any supermarket will have a lot of stuff imported from Spain etc.