Waste Action Plan for a Circular Economy (Ireland)

Ireland’s Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment is seeking views on the development of a new Waste Action Plan for Ireland as part of the move to a more Circular Economy where resources are kept in use for as long as possible and then recycled or reused at the end of their service life. 

This consultation will enable Ireland  develop a new waste policy / circular economy plan to meet the emerging challenges and build on the targets set out in the Climate Action Plan (separate Blog post on the Climate Action Plan, issued shortly). The completed policy will also match the level of ambition in the Waste and Climate areas being shown across the EU.

The Public Consultation will close at 5pm on Friday 21st February 2020. 

The consultation document is here

Please see the related consultation documents here

Long-term Strategy on Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction (Ireland)

Article 15 of the European Regulation (EU) 2018/1999 on the Governance of the Energy Union and Climate Action requires each Member State to prepare and submit to the Commission a long-term strategy for greenhouse gas emissions reduction with a perspective of at least 30 years.

Ireland has already established a detailed decarbonisation pathway to 2030 in its Climate Action Plan 2019. This will be reflected in Ireland’s final national energy and climate plan (NECP).

As part of the NECP consultation process, the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment sought views on decarbonising beyond 2030.

The Climate Action Plan 2019 puts in place a decarbonisation pathway to 2030 which would be consistent with the adoption of a net zero target in Ireland by 2050. Action 1 under the Plan has also committed to evaluating in detail the changes required to adopt a more ambitious commitment of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, as part of finalising Ireland’s long-term climate strategy by the end of 2019 as per the advice of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the recommendation of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action.

The Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment is now seeking further views in relation to decarbonisation pathways beyond 2030, including transition options across all key sectors of the economy (energy, buildings, transport, enterprise, waste, agriculture and land-use), on the role of innovative technologies and on socio-economic factors.

Link to Long-term Strategy Consultation Document – here.

Page 5 sets out the ways in which a response may be made. The deadline is 16th December 2019.

Moving Goods from Ireland to Northern Ireland (Northern Ireland Brexit)

Exit day is 31st October (this date is in a Statutory instrument)

[this Blog does not focus on Customs or VAT, this post is made only because the changes are substantive]

Today HMRC updated (in a major way) and reissued its guidance on customs procedures applying in Northern Ireland.

Here

Goods moving between Ireland and Northern Ireland will face different procedures compared to other UK-EU trade.

You will not need to:

• get a customs agent or an Economic Operator Registration and Identification (EORI) number

• pay Customs Duty or make import or export declarations to HMRC

You should also consider advice issued by the Irish government about their requirements for goods moving into or out of Ireland.

This was the case in the March instructions (see Blog post then).

What is added is information about moving controlled and licensed goods, transitional simplified procedures and moving goods under transit.

HMRC also issued updated instructions on excise duty applying to exports to Ireland and imports from Ireland.

Export – here.

Import – here.

Customs and VAT processes in Northern Ireland will also change if there is an orderly exit. I will be issuing further Blog posts.

Food Safety (Ireland Brexit)

Exit day is 31st October

(a separate post will notify if/when this date changes, and it is unlikely a future exit day will be later than 31st January 2020)

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has a Brexit section online (last reviewed 6th August 2019) that presents relevant information for persons who trade with the UK (this includes Northern Ireland) as part of a food business.

There is a huge amount of information on this online site.

A Q&A document consolidates much of it – here (dated 2 April 2019)

A key component is the Border Inspection Posts (BIPs). As the reader is aware, there is an International Land Border between Ireland and Northern Ireland (a part of the UK). This is known as the Irish Border.

The Irish Government is working with the EU to establish additional BIPs to serve trade across the Irish Border. The location of these additional BIPs is not yet announced, other than statements made by the Irish Government that they will be located away from the actual Irish Border physical position.

The BIPs at Dublin and Shannon (page 9 of the Q&A) are already set up.

Getting Ireland Brexit Ready (Ireland Brexit)

Exit day is 31st October

(a different date may be agreed between the UK and the EU, but this Exit date is unlikely to be later than 31st January 2020)

Yesterday, 4th September, the Government of Ireland has issued an important Practical Steps document – here.

Please examine this document carefully.

Ireland Brexit Notices (Ireland Brexit)

Exit day is 12th April

Ireland updates its instructions –

(1) Trading with the UK – here,

(2) Transport and Logistics – here,

(2) Daily Life – here.

Trading with the UK

* Ireland is operating Simplified Customs Procedures (the UK is too, note, they might not be the same) – here

[this Blog does not focus on Customs, Tariffs, or VAT]

* Ireland is operating Deferred Payment Schemes (the UK is too, note, they might not be the same) – here

* Due to a recent Irish Government decision, there is now an option to postpone the payment of VAT and this will be available to VAT-registered businesses.

* Re exporting goods to the UK, these may become subject to customs formalities on importation in the UK – the instruction is to contact the UK’s Revenue and Customs authority, HMRC, for further detail.

* EORI numbers are required to trade with the UK after Exit day. So far only half the traders that need an EORI number have applied for it. EORI numbers are obtained using the Irish Revenue’s online services section.

* Contract the UK’s HMRC to customs clear and import goods in your own name into the UK, or trade online into the UK – the UK will operate new customs obligations and formalities after Exit day.

*** UK access to TRACES after Exit day is not yet confirmed [the Irish instructions refer traders to check the UK trader registrations on TRACES]

*** the instructions refer on to separate government department online pages for product specific information.

As I read the instructions, I note that many areas are being worked on and are as yet not defined.

[Exit day may change, please keep following this Blog]

Ireland Omnibus Bill (Ireland Brexit)

UPDATE (3) : the Bill is now law and the Irish statute book is now ready for Brexit on 29th March 2019

UPDATE (2) : the Bill has passed the Dail and is now in the Seanad (the second Chamber)

UPDATE : the Bill is here.

Ireland publishes this morning its 15 part Omnibus Brexit Bill (I posted about this Bill coming down the line before). The Irish papers all carry reports of this – the Irish Times report is here.

The island of Ireland is the location of the international land border between the UK and the EU. I am travelling to Ireland again on Sunday, and will spend two weeks in the Borderlands (again).

I will update this Post (the update will not be emailed through, so if you are following this, then check back on the Blog itself), in due course, with a link to the published bill and a summary.

HSA Brexit Guide (Ireland Brexit)

From 30th March 2019, the UK will become a “third country”. The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) is the Competent Authority for a range of EU Regulations and Directive in Ireland.

The HSA has now issued a Brexit Overview document – here.

Cardinal Environment will be setting up a Brexit Law List for Ireland EHS Legislation Systems and Checklists, shortly. We will place this and other guidance on that list.

This HSA Brexit Overview reminds :

(1) Products imported from the UK from 30 March 2019 need to be EU compliant.

(2) Irish companies need to know the full supply chain for all their products (for example machinery, chemicals) and how it is linked to the UK or NI, including via distributors.

(3) Unless Irish companies can source their product from another EU supplier, the Irish company may become an EU importer after Brexit, with additional legal responsibility for compliance of the product with EU law. I posted about this recently.

(4) After Brexit, Irish companies will no longer be able to rely on notified bodies based in the UK to undertake 3rd party conformity assessments required under relevant EU law. They will need to source a notified body legally designated to carry out conformity assessments in the EU27.

This applies to Chemicals, Machinery, Transportable Pressure Equipment, and other classes of Industrial Products.

The above also applies in the rest of the EU27, and in the EEA.

Sourcing Products from the UK (Ireland Brexit)

The Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation (Ireland) has (5th Feb) reminded companies in Ireland sourcing products from the UK that they will take additional responsibilities as EU importers after Brexit. Here

In this communication, the Minister of State for Trade, Employment, Business, EU Digital Single Market and Data Protection, Pat Breen TD said “Before the UK leaves the EU, it is critical that businesses assess all aspects of their potential exposure. After Brexit, companies in Ireland will no longer be able to rely on UK-based Notified Bodies to undertake third party conformity assessments required under relevant EU law. They will instead need to source an EU-based Notified Body legally designated to carry conformity assessments. A list of Notified Bodies is available on the EU ‘NANDO’ website”.

Irish businesses are also advised that

• Products imported from the UK post-Brexit need to be EU compliant.

• Businesses need to understand the vulnerabilities in their supply chains. They need to know the full supply chain for all their products (machinery, chemicals, etc.) and how it is linked to the UK, including via distributors.

• Irish companies sourcing their product from the UK after Brexit may become an EU importer with additional legal responsibilities for compliance of the product with EU law.

• When UK leaves, UK registrations, authorization or notifications under REACH and CLP will not be valid. This means the role of businesses in Ireland may change from being a downstream user of chemicals to an importer.

The communication references the useful EU issued Q&A for Businesses (industrial products) – here.

Ireland Government Brexit Update (Ireland)

The Irish Government issues (today) 16th February 2018 its first Government Brexit Update. This is here.

In this Update (Issue No 1), the Irish Government identifies its Brexit Priorities, latest Government Brexit Engagements, the launch of a new Government Brexit website, and various other initiatives and preparations underway.

The Ireland Government Brexit website is here.

[please note this Ireland post is categorised Brexit – UK Brexit posts are differently categorised in Referendum Outcome (UK)]