The Irish Exporters Association (IEA) has broadly welcomed today’s announcement by the UK Government that controls and requirements due to come into force on 1 October on exports into the UK will be pushed out to 1 January and 1 July 2022.

Chief Executive Officer of the IEA, Simon McKeever urged all involved to use the extended time to ensure systems are in place and robust enough to deal with the volume of documentation that will have to be generated and submitted when controls come into force.

The CEO commented: “Members that have been setting up for 1 October will welcome the additional time to prepare for pre-notifying and acquire Export Health Certificates for exports of animal origin.

Today’s announcement means that exports of animal product consignments from the EU can flow to the UK as they do today until 31 December 2021.

We have been working with impacted members to ensure that they understand the various controls and requirements coming down the track and understand that concerns about cumbersome systems and timelines have really come to the fore in recent weeks.”