Veterinary officers recently recruited by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will be deployed at ports “as and when needed”, according to the department.
In a statement to AgriLand, a spokesperson for the department explained that a combination of new recruits and redeployed staff are currently undergoing extensive training.
This is being carried out in preparation for conducting control functions at Dublin and Rosslare ports and documentary checks at Department of Agriculture headquarters offices.
Staff will be assigned to import control duties on a 24/7 shift basis as soon as they are required to do so.
A further group of new recruits will commence employment shortly and will be assigned to portal duties as they become available, the representative added.
This will be supplemented with contracted personnel engaged as needs emerge.
In addition to the range of measures that deployed over the last three budgets – including low-cost loan schemes, and supports for product and market diversification – Minister Creed and his officials have been in ongoing discussions with the European Commission in relation to the potential supports that may be required for the agri-food sector in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
Most recently, the minister met with European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan in the margins of the latest AgriFish Council in Brussels.
Measures
Discussions with the commissioner focused on the potential impact a ‘no-deal’ Brexit could have on the agri-food sector and the commission’s readiness to deploy support measures to help mitigate the potential impacts on farmers, fishermen and businesses in the sector.
Contacts are ongoing in this regard, the spokesperson concluded.