A new customs control facility and border control post has been officially opened at Rosslare Europort in Co Wexford.
Referred to as Terminal 7 and built at a cost of close to €230 million, it is one of the biggest capital infrastructure projects of its kind in Ireland.
A significant amount of the construction cost came from the EU’s Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR).
Rosslare Europort has seen a more than six-fold increase in direct European sailings since Brexit, with many freight and delivery companies shifting from using the UK landbridge to more direct sea routes with the European Union.
The major infrastructure upgrades reflect this growth, as well as the new customs requirements that come with the port becoming a major gateway between Ireland and mainland Europe.
Watch: Drone footage of new Rosslare Europort facility
The new facility will handle post-Brexit checks on goods coming into the country from outside the EU.
The complex includes permanent facilities to check food products and compliance with sanitary legislation.
There are also new garda immigration and customs and border control facilities for the Department of Agriculture and the HSE.
There will be designated check-in areas for freight and cars, as well as inspection areas for live animals and food checks.
In total, 34 new buildings have been constructed, including the replacement of temporary infrastructure and processing facilities which have been in place since new regulations came into effect following Brexit in 2021.
The set-up is designed to provide protection for the EU single market.
Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers said the new facility at Rosslare is a “transformative project in terms of infrastructure delivery in the Irish economy”.
Speaking at the opening, he said when it came to Ireland’s position in EU trade, it would be a “beacon of openness and trade” but also help to manage the downside effects of Brexit.
“It ensures compliance when it comes to UK-Irish trade,” he said.
Overseen by the OPW with input from other state agencies, including the Department of Agriculture, the HSE, the Revenue Commissioners and An Garda Síochána, Mr Chambers said it was an example of how major infrastructure could be delivered.
“There was a time constraint put on this because of the compliance issue, which came out of Brexit, so there was a necessity to deliver, but we want to de-risk a lot of the bigger infrastructure projects in the State,” he said.
Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran said the “terminal complex will well serve the Irish economy and the development of the southeast region as a whole”.
The new port facilities began operating on 15 October and a new truck scanner allows the Office of the Revenue Commissioners to carry out checks on vehicles as they enter the country, as part of Revenue’s strategy to target fraud.
The truck scanners have already yielded results, including identifying a cocaine haul.
Also speaking at the launch, Assistant Garda Commissioner Paula Hilman said: “It is very much a partnership, collaboration approach, collaborative approach … we’ve had significant seizures of drugs.
“You are focused on targeting drugs coming into the country, but also as well on immigration and human trafficking. So really working together with our other partners at Rosslare Europort to keep our country safe.”
She said the monitoring activity of suspected human trafficking is being ramped up.
“We are here, we are checking the vehicles coming in, the lorries coming in.
“That footprint, both from gardaí and customs, will continue because, you know, we are responding to the increase in activity and demand we’ve seen across the port,” she said.
Chair of the Revenue Commissioners, Niall Cody, said the fixed truck scanner, which was a first of its kind in Revenue, had played a critical role in the detection of 202 kilograms of cocaine with a street value of €14.2m in its first full weekend in operation.
“This project is of critical significance,” he said.
“The decision by the UK to leave the European Union necessitated a rapid, comprehensive response to protect the integrity of our single market and maintain seamless trade with our closest neighbours and European partners.
“It is important to remember that the vast majority of goods and people passing through Rosslare are legitimate.
“Our role is not to impede but to facilitate trade. The new one-stop facility at Terminal 7 will bring together all the necessary inspection functions into a single location, creating a more efficient and streamlined process for traders.”
Also attending today’s launch was Minister for Housing James Browne, a TD for the Wexford constituency.
He said the new port facilities would help the southeast deliver on its potential.
“Staff here deal with fairly serious situations, whether it’s drugs, whether it’s human trafficking, whether it’s traumatic situations, like when the Ukrainians were arriving, and deal with it, I think, with a quiet, determined humanitarian approach,” he said.
Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, said that the OPW had worked with multiple government departments and state agencies to ensure the new facilities were built to comply with EU law.
He said coming into the winter, his department was now focused on flood delivery projects on which €100m would be spent.
Rosslare Europort is also planning to lodge an application later this month for its proposed Offshore Renewable Energy Hub.
Meanwhile Mary Considine, the new CEO of Iarnród Éireann, said renewable energy developments in the Irish and Celtic seas would be crucial regional and national developments for Ireland’s future energy independence and national sustainability and climate action goals.
