11. Statement by the Minister for Economy and Transport: The Impact of a 'No Deal' Brexit on Transportation

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 5:12 pm on 22 January 2019.

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Photo of Rhun ap Iorwerth Rhun ap Iorwerth Plaid Cymru 5:12, 22 January 2019

(Translated)

Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. Of course, this is another area where there is a great deal of uncertainty as we get closer to the time when it appears that we are still going to be exiting the European Union. Can I ask one question? How many resources within your department, in terms of people and funding, are having to be focused on Brexit and nothing else? And how many additional staff members have you had to recruit to be involved in this particular issue? Because, of course, we need innovation in terms of transport in all sorts of ways in Wales, and so the resources that are being sucked into this are resources that could, indeed, be used in far more creative ways to improve the state of infrastructure in Wales.

In terms of specific questions, I share a great many of the concerns that you’ve raised already. Certainly, the fact that Holyhead is in my constituency makes those challenges more real for me, perhaps, than for the majority, because I'm talking about people who are constituents of mine who are working in the port, and hopes for growth in the port are part of the economic future of Anglesey. You're talking about temporary schemes to use Roadking or Parc Cybi. What kind of plans are being put in place for the slightly longer term? It’s important that we consider that time frame as well. Our experience of what’s happening on other borders suggests that there will be delays. Even between Norway and Sweden, where Norway is in the single market but isn’t in the customs union,  there is a delay, on average, of around 20 minutes. Between Bulgaria and Turkey, where Turkey is in the customs union, but isn’t in the single market, there’s a delay of up to 24 hours. And between France and Switzerland, which is the border that has been noted as the one most similar to what we’ll have after Brexit, well, there’s delay of up to two hours, where there have to be full inspections of lorries, so we shouldn’t think that there won’t be challenges for our ports. So, a little bit more of clarity for the medium term for Holyhead would be appreciated.

In terms of flights, could we have a little more information about what the Government is trying to do to push for devolution of air passenger duty? We will need that to give a boost to Cardiff Airport. And, because of the restrictions on any new routes that can be developed for 12 months after exit, does that mean that there’s no way of looking at further flights from Anglesey to Dublin, for example? I take it that that wouldn’t be possible.

I don’t know whether there is more that you can tell us about what’s being done in terms of research into the likely impact of trade flowing directly from the Republic of Ireland to France or Spain as a result of a less easy flow through Holyhead.

Finally, there are options for co-investment, as members of the European Union, in Holyhead, and other ports in Wales, as part of a joint project with the Republic of Ireland—INTERREG or the trans-European transport network, for example. Those opportunities are going to be lost to us, so what consideration has been given to the kind of joint investment that would be possible after a hard Brexit, because, as I see it, it’ll only get harder and those investments would be beneficial to us and our European partners?