Brexit and Transport - what you need to know

The United Kingdom left the European Union on 31 January 2020 after both sides concluded a Withdrawal Agreement to facilitate an orderly departure. The Withdrawal Agreement provided for a transition period, which ended on 31 December 2020.

The Item was unpublished or removedwas concluded on 30 December 2020. The Agreement provides for tariff-free, quota-free trade and for sectoral cooperation in a number of important areas.

As the UK is no longer part of the EU Single Market and Customs Union. This means new procedures apply for businesses moving goods to, from or through the UK, excluding Northern Ireland. The Protocol on Ireland / Northern Ireland , which forms part of the Withdrawal Agreement agreed between the EU and the UK in 2019, means that no new procedures will apply to goods moving between Northern Ireland and Ireland (and the other Member States of the European Union).

In February 2023 the EU and the UK reached agreement on Item was unpublished or removed, a new way forward on the Protocol on Northern Ireland. The Windsor Framework sets out joint solutions on customs, agri-food, medicines, VAT and excise, as well as new instruments to ensure that the people of Northern Ireland are better heard.

The UK Government announced in August 2023 its new approach to controlling imports of goods to Great Britain from the EU (including Ireland) in the Border Target Operating Model (TOM) The TOM set out stages for the implementation of new import rules starting from 31 January 2024. All Irish traders exporting to Great Britain must take action to prepare for the changes.

New Requirements

The new UK controls will have implications for all Irish exporters to Great Britain, particularly agri-food exporters, including those using the UK Landbridge. The UK TOM includes provisions related to customs and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) requirements for imports of goods from the EU, including Ireland.

In particular exports from the agri-food sector will subject to pre-notification and accompanied, in some cases, by export health and phyto-sanitary certificates. There will be no changes to moving goods between Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Timelines for Implementation

31 January 2024

• Export health certificates and phytosanitary certificates will be required for medium risk animal products, plants and plant products imported to Great Britain from the EU, including from Ireland.
• Prenotification of imports of SPS goods from Ireland on the UK’s SPS import system (IPAFFS) will be required (this requirement already applies to imports of such goods from the rest of the EU since 1 January 2022).

30 April 2024

• Documentary checks and physical and identity checks at the border will be introduced for medium risk animal products, plant and plant products imported to Great Britain from the EU, excluding those goods being imported from Ireland.
• Existing inspections of high-risk plants/plant products from the EU will move from point of destination in Great Britain to UK Border Control Posts.

31 October 2024

• Safety and Security declarations for EU imports will come into force.
• Documentary and risk-based identity and physical checks on medium risk animal products, plants, plant products and high-risk food and feed of non-animal origin from Ireland will be introduced at ports on the west coast of Great Britain (the date for the commencement of physical checks for non-qualifying goods moving from the island of Ireland will be confirmed in autumn 2023).
• This will apply to a wider range of agri-food goods than is currently the case, including products of animal origin and all regulated plants and plant products. It will be based on a risk categorisation of high, medium, and low risk as defined by UK Government, depending on country of origin and product definition.

Irish Exporters: Take Action

It is vital that impacted businesses speak to everyone in their supply chain including transport and logistics providers and customers in Great Britain to examine what adjustments will be needed to comply with the new UK requirements (such as ferry boarding formalities, the end of the delayed lodgement of customs declarations, pre-notification of SPS products, export health certificates etc) and ensure everyone understands their role in this new environment.

Irish exporters of agri-food goods should contact their supervisory competent authority to ensure they will can meet the new UK requirements.

Operators moving goods between Ireland and other EU countries by road through Great Britain (the UK Landbridge) will also be impacted and should familiarise themselves with the relevant new UK government requirements.

Hauliers who move goods through the UK ports that use the Goods Vehicle Movement Service (GVMS)need to register for the service. This will help to ensure that goods are processed through customs without delay. Register on gov.uk.

As the TOM will be implemented in several stages, all Irish exporters and those involved in moving goods to the United Kingdom are strongly encouraged to check the UK Government TOM website regularly.

Further information on the export of goods from Ireland to Great Britain can be found here.

The EU and International Division within the Department of Transport seeks to ensure a coordinated approach to Brexit related issues across all of the Department’s policy areas. The division continues to work on ensuring that any impacts to our sectors are minimised. The department is represented on all relevant cross-departmental co-ordination structures and continues to work closely with our agencies and key stakeholders.

Drivers from the UK, including Northern Ireland, may now drive in Ireland and elsewhere in the EU, without a Green Card as proof of motor insurance.

This comes from the European Commission decision to allow UK and Montenegro enter the Green Card Free Circulation zone, as permitted under Article 8.2 of the EU Motor Insurance Directive. This came into effect on 2 August 2021.

Green Cards are also not required by Irish drivers driving in Northern Ireland or Great Britain.

The Motor Insurance Bureau of Ireland (MIBI) has also published advice for policy holders.

Brexit has resulted in increased traffic volumes through Rosslare Europort. This is a result of traffic moving, post-Brexit, away from the UK landbridge to direct services to continental EU ports. At the end of 2022, total port traffic had risen by 54% when compared to 2019.

Since 19 June 2023, the Department of Transport has provided 10 heavy goods vehicle (HGV) parking spaces, on a 24hr basis, in the State Facility near Rosslare Europort. The State facility at Kilrane is 1.3km from Rosslare Europort – an ideally short distance from the port allowing drivers to comply with EU driver time (tachograph) rules while accessing a safe and secure site with modest welfare facilities.

The address and Eircode for the site is Border Control Post, Kilrane, Rosslare Harbour, Co. Wexford, Y35 P797

This project has been funded by the EU's Brexit Adjustment Reserve.

It is NOT an offence under Irish or EU law for GB or Northern Ireland registered vehicles to drive in Ireland without a UK sticker attached to the vehicle.

Since 1 January 2021, UK driving licences are no longer valid for persons living in Ireland. However, the Minister for Transport has signed an agreement with the United Kingdom that will allow residents of Ireland with a UK driving licence to exchange that licence (under this new agreement) for an Irish driving licence.

This agreement will be of particular benefit to anyone planning to live in Ireland as it will allow them to exchange their UK licence for an Irish driving licence.

Information on the exchange process is available on the National Driver Licence Service website. .

The UK Government advises that arrangements for EU licence holders who are visiting or living there have not changed. Therefore, visitors to the UK and Northern Ireland and those resident there with driving licences from EU Member States, including Ireland, should enjoy the same arrangements as before the UK left the EU. Anyone resident in the UK with an Irish driving licence is entitled to exchange it for a UK licence under the licence exchange agreement between Ireland and the UK.

This information is provided to industry in particular to provide some clarification in respect of Brexit, the United Kingdom’s (UK) withdrawal from the European Union (EU). It specifically concerns the type-approval of Category M (passenger vehicles), N (goods vehicles), O (their trailers) and L (two and three-wheeled motor vehicles, e.g. motorcycles and mopeds).

For the purposes of EU type-approval, the UK Vehicle Certification Agency (VCA) is no longer recognised as a type-approval authority. Therefore, vehicles which have certificates of conformity (CoC) issued on the basis of type-approval by Great Britain cannot be registered or placed on the market in EU Member States, including Ireland.

In the case of vehicles where type-approval was transferred to another EU type-approval authority and the vehicles placed on the market by the manufacturer before 31 December 2020, those vehicles may still be registered and entered into service.

Separate type-approval provisions apply in respect of Northern Ireland as a consequence of the terms of the Protocol of Ireland/Northern Ireland (Item 9, Annex 2). Under these terms Northern Ireland remains subject to EU type-approval legislation. These approvals will be known as UK(NI) to distinguish them from EU Member States’ approvals.

International road haulage plays a critical role in facilitating Irish economic activity. The UK left the European Union on 31 January 2020 and as such the UK no longer applies the rules of the EU Single Market and Customs Union. The UK remains the most important country for Ireland from a road transport point of view given its proximity, the land border with Northern Ireland, ferry links and the close social, cultural and trade links between the two countries.

Journeys between Ireland and the UK were largely governed by EU legislation when the UK was an EU Member State. This legal framework was replaced by the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) on 1 January 2021.

The TCA now governs all commercial road transport of goods between Ireland and Northern Ireland and Ireland and Great Britain and all transit through the UK enroute to and from Ireland.

Annex 31 applies only to goods transport and contains detailed provisions based largely on the existing EU acquis in road transport. The Annex contains detailed provisions on licensing, driver hours, tachographs, Certificates of Professional Competence, vehicle standards, etc.

While the general Posted Workers Directive no longer applies between the EU and the UK, road transport is still subject to posting provisions in the TCA. This makes it the only sector of EU-UK cooperation where rules regarding the posting of workers are still in force.

An EU-UK Specialised Committee on Road Transport has been set up under the TCA to help implement the Agreement’s provisions. Given the key role road transport plays in the trade in goods between the EU (including Ireland) and the UK, it is vital that the TCA is properly implemented in order to enable a fair and mutually beneficial trading relationship.

Many of Ireland’s key concerns in the area of international road haulage have been addressed in the TCA and these are summarised below:-

• Point to point transport of goods between both Parties (EU-UK) is included. This is quota-free and means that ECMT permits are not required.
• Transit from Ireland/EU through the territory of the UK is included.
• Cabotage provisions are included, meaning EU operators can undertake up to 2 cabotage operations within the UK (including Northern Ireland).
• For UK hauliers, these additional operations can be composed of two cross-trade operations (i.e. transport operations between two Member States) or one cross-trade and one cabotage operation (i.e. a transport operation within two points of a single Member State). Special provisions are made in the case of Ireland, as Northern Irish hauliers will be able to perform up to two cabotage operations in Ireland if their journey commenced in Northern Ireland.

Information on using the UK landbridge is available here

As of 1 January 2021, UK/NI issued Driver CPC qualification cards are no longer recognised in Ireland, and a driver who holds a UK/NI Driver CPC card will not be able to drive professionally here.

A driver who did not exchange their UK/NI Driver CPC card before the 31 December 2020 is required to ‘re-establish’ their entitlement to a Driver CPC qualification by completing five days of Driver CPC periodic training (or six days if maintaining both bus and truck categories) in a Road Safety Authority (RSA) approved Driver CPC Training Organisation before obtaining a new Irish Driver CPC card.

Further information is available on the RSA Website and by email at cpc@rsa.ie

Transport Manager CPCs issued by an authority of the United Kingdom or a body authorised by the United Kingdom are no longer valid in the EU, following the end of the Brexit transition period on 31 December 2020. This affects Transport Managers with UK-issued Transport Manager CPCs residing in Ireland and working for Irish operators (haulage and passenger operators).

In addition, in accordance with Article 4 of Regulation (EC) 1071/2009, the Transport Manager for a road transport operator based in the EU must themselves be resident in the EU. Any Transport Manager designated for an Irish licenced operator who is resident in the UK no longer meets this requirement. This situation can be rectified either by the Transport Manager becoming resident in the EU or by the operator designating a new Transport Manager who meets the requirements.

Under Article 13(1)(a) of Regulation EC No. 1071/2009, a period of up to 6 months can be allowed “for the recruitment of a replacement transport manager where the transport manager no longer satisfies the requirement as to good repute or professional competence.”

In the case of both the above Transport Manager requirements (having an EU-issued TM CPC and EU residency), Irish road transport operators whose Transport Managers fail to meet one or both of these requirements due to Brexit will be allowed a period of up to a maximum of six months (from 1 January 2021) in which to ensure that the professional competence requirement for their operator licence is once again satisfied in accordance with Article 13 of Regulation (EC) 1071/2009, that is, to ensure that their nominated Transport Manager is the holder of a CPC issued by an EU Member State and is resident in an EU Member State.

Licensees are reminded that if they fall into the above category, they should begin the process of rectifying the situation as soon as possible, in order to ensure that their licence remains valid in 2021.

Arrangements are in place to ensure that rail passenger services on the Dublin – Belfast line will continue and run as usual.

The EU-UK Trade and Co-operation Agreement provides for the continuation of cross-border buses on the island of Ireland. Further information is available on the NTA's website, or for information on specific services please contact your service provider.

Ireland is heavily dependent on aviation links with the UK for trade and tourism. Pre covid, some 44% of all flights to or from Ireland, approximately 113,000 flights per annum, were to or from the UK. The sector contributed more than €4 billion directly to Ireland’s GDP. The tourism sector is critically reliant on aviation connectivity and spending by overseas visitors was approximately €5 billion, of which just over €1 billion was from GB visitors.

The Free Trade & Cooperation Agreement includes a chapter on Air Transport which ensures continued connectivity by air between the European Union and the United Kingdom. The agreement allows for practical cooperation in the areas of aviation safety, security and air navigation.

Market access is provided by way of so-called third and fourth freedom traffic rights which allow for point to point access between the two jurisdictions e.g. DUB-LHR and return for both EU and UK airlines. EU Member states may also conclude bilateral arrangements with the UK to provide for fifth freedom rights for cargo only services, subject to approval at EU level e.g. DUB-LHR-JFK for cargo only. UK carriers no longer have access to operate within the intra-EU air transport market e.g. DUB-AMS and EU carriers do not have access to the intra-UK market e.g. LHR-EDI. In addition, there are certain new restrictions on commercial operations - leasing and codesharing arrangements - between EU and UK operators.

A fundamental legal principle of European Aviation is that air carriers wishing to operate in the European single aviation market must be majority owned and effectively controlled by EU nationals. The agreement maintains this aspect for EU carriers – EU airlines must be able to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of EU Regulation 1008/2008 from 01 January 2021. For UK carriers, they can benefit from rights under the agreement while maintaining EU/EEA/Swiss shareholders where they held a valid licence on that basis in accordance with Union law on the last day of the Brexit transition period.

On 1 January 2021, EU aviation safety legislation and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) regulatory framework ceased to apply to the UK. As of that date, the UK is considered as a third country and it no longer has the status of an EASA Member State. As a result of this, UK issued certificates and licences are no longer valid for EU, including Irish, aviation operations and activities. Holders of UK aviation certificates and licences should consult EASA and take the necessary steps to achieve EASA certification or licensing where that is possible.

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) has statutory responsibility for the regulation and oversight of aviation safety in Ireland. The IAA continues to closely monitor the UK’s transition to third country status, including dealing with licensing issues. For more detailed information on all aspects of aviation safety in relation to Brexit please consult this website.

The Commission has taken action to ensure that passengers and their cabin baggage flying from the United Kingdom and transiting via airports in EU Member States continue to be exempted from a second security screening, by applying the One Stop Security system.

A key priority in the lead up to the end of the transition period was to ensure continued maritime connectivity with both our UK and EU markets.

The maritime supply chain has responded as predicted to the challenges presented by end of the Brexit transition with disruption to normal trade flows being inevitable as businesses adjust to the reality of the UK becoming a 3rd country. Shipping operators have demonstrated their capacity to respond quickly and move capacity to where it has been sought by business both in Ireland, the UK and on the continent.

Throughout 2020 and 2021, an unprecedented response from the shipping industry has been seen in terms of increasing capacity to match market demand. New/additional direct ferry links with increased capacity including to Cherbourg, Dunkerque, Zeebrugge, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Roscoff and Santander have come on stream and are seeing high demand.

The increase in choice and frequency in the RoRo freight market has had a very significant impact on freight capacity to continental EU ports. Weekly RoRo freight capacity to continental EU ports has doubled in the past 18 months.

The market response has occurred across all relevant modes i.e LoLo and RoRo accompanied and unaccompanied and has drawn from all available responses. These responses include (1) utilization of surplus capacity, (2) increasing capacity by altering schedules, (3) redeploying vessels within their fleets, and (4) adding new capacity in the form of additional vessels.

These responses and the new services launched last year, along with others already commenced or announced for 2021, demonstrate the commitment of the shipping companies to the Irish market. Shipping operators have demonstrated their capacity to respond quickly and move capacity to where it has been sought by business both in Ireland, the UK and on the continent.

Under the new Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Regulation from 1 January 2021, Ireland is located on two TEN-T core network corridors for the first time. The three Irish core ports of Dublin, Cork and Shannon-Foynes are linked to core ports in Northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands on the North Sea – Mediterranean Corridor. Additionally, Ireland’s three core ports are linked to the French ports of Le Havre and Nantes Saint-Nazaire on the Atlantic Corridor. These TEN-T realignments seek to ensure Ireland’s continued connectivity with the rest of the EU as the UK no longer forms part of the network.

If you have a question or issue about Brexit which is not addressed, please email brexit@transport.gov.ie