Removal of Irish Sea Border parcel checks pushed out yet again by Government

Earlier this month a Wesminister committee heard that new post-Brexit labelling rules could see “gaps on shelves” in Northern Ireland by July.

Business representatives told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee that the Windsor Framework was “an improvement” on previous post-Brexit trade arrangements but there were still challenges.

Concerns were also raised about new parcel delivery requirements needed from March 31.

However, yesterday government announced the changes would now come in by May 1.

Anne-Marie Murphy, director of strategy and emerging markets at the NI Consumer Council, said they had already identified “difficulties” in delivering goods from GB to NI.

She said “it isn’t going to be business as usual” once the parcel changes come into force.

“The difficulty about this is that Northern Ireland consumers will be on the receiving end of these arrangements.

“So it is going to be a grandmother sending a gift to her grandchild in Northern Ireland.

“It is going to be a business sending something to a consumer in Northern Ireland.

“It is going to be a consumer in the UK returning a product to a business in Northern Ireland.

“So there’s three different processes already and our parcels research has already identified … that there have been some difficulties in relation to delivering to Northern Ireland, either by business deciding that they are not going to deliver to Northern Ireland or it is too difficult, or by some mistakes in the process.”

But yesterday East Belfast DUP MLA David Brooks, who is also the democratic scrutiny committee deputy chairman at Stormont, said the government announcement on customs checks being removed from consumers’ parcels – now by May 1 – whilst late, is progress.

Mr Brooks said: “We are disappointed by any delay, but this is progress, and the government has been clear that their system is ready to operate and will go live on May 1. I am glad we are moving beyond words and this is concrete action which will help consumers and remove the need for routine customs declarations on parcels.

“We opposed the Northern Ireland Protocol at every turn, but it was foisted on Northern Ireland against the wishes of all unionist MLAs. We have sought to undo the damaging effects flowing from it.”

TUV leader Jim Allister said the changes were first supposed to take place last September and then by the end of this month – but will now be delayed until May.

He added: “Trying to impose a customs border on parcels movements within a national economy is completely absurd, just as has been the attempt to frustrate the flow of other goods within what was the UK single market for goods through the imposition of other aspects of the customs border.

“The costly and destructive implications of doing so are plainly demonstrated in the fact that we are now on our third commencement date and in the concerns eloquently presented by businesses to the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee last week.”