Member

The enormity of these repercussions is such that the notion that the desire to avoid a hard border across the island of Ireland for customs and SPS purposes was such that they could be disregarded never made any sense. However, in the context of the regulations before us today making it plain that it is acceptable to have an SPS border processing goods from the Republic and the EU into the UK without hard infrastructure on the border, the entire justification for having the border in the Irish Sea is not only swept away but replaced by an urgent imperative to relocate it where it should be, at the international border. The provision of the border in the right place by means of the mechanism in these regulations—pre-notification and the use of SPS checks away from the border—means that there is no need for the UK Government to abdicate their biosecurity responsibilities to the people of Northern Ireland. In the context of the provision of the border, as provided for by these regulations, in the right place rather than the wrong place, Northern Ireland can cease to be a third country in relation to Great Britain, just as Great Britain can cease to be a third country in relation to Northern Ireland.