A new border control post and customs inspection facility has officially opened at Rosslare Europort in County Wexford.
Known as Terminal 7 and developed at a cost of almost €230 million, it ranks among Ireland’s largest capital infrastructure undertakings of its kind, reports RTE.
A considerable portion of the project’s funding came from the EU’s Brexit Adjustment Reserve (BAR).
Since Brexit, Rosslare Europort has witnessed more than a six-fold rise in direct sailings to continental Europe, as many freight and delivery firms have switched from the UK landbridge to direct maritime routes connecting Ireland with the EU, reports RTE.
These major infrastructure improvements reflect that surge in traffic as well as the new customs obligations that accompany the port’s growing role as a key gateway linking Ireland to mainland Europe.
The new complex will carry out post-Brexit inspections on goods entering Ireland from countries outside the European Union, reports RTE.
Its facilities include permanent checkpoints for food products and measures ensuring adherence to sanitary regulations.
Additional sections have been created for garda immigration, customs, and border control, serving agencies such as the Department of Agriculture and the HSE, reports RTE.
Designated areas will handle check-ins for freight and passenger vehicles, with dedicated inspection spaces for live animals and food consignments.
In total, 34 new structures have been completed, replacing temporary systems and processing units that had operated since Brexit-related regulations took effect in 2021, reports RTE.
The project is designed to safeguard the integrity of the EU single market.
Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers described the Rosslare development as a “transformative project in terms of infrastructure delivery in the Irish economy”, reports RTE.
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Speaking at the launch, he said the site would act as a “beacon of openness and trade” for Ireland’s EU commerce, while also helping to manage Brexit’s adverse effects.
“It ensures compliance when it comes to UK-Irish trade,” he said, reports RTE.
Managed by the OPW with contributions from agencies including the Department of Agriculture, the HSE, Revenue, and An Garda Síochána, Mr Chambers noted that it demonstrated how major national infrastructure could be successfully completed.
“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, reports RTE.
Minister of State for the Office of Public Works Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran stated that the “terminal complex will well serve the Irish economy and the development of the southeast region as a whole”.
The port’s upgraded facilities began operations on 15 October, and a new truck scanner now enables Revenue officials to inspect vehicles as they enter the country as part of efforts to combat fraud, reports RTE.
These scanners have already proven effective, uncovering a cocaine shipment.
Assistant Garda Commissioner Paula Hilman also addressed the event, saying: “It is very much a partnership, collaboration approach, collaborative approach … we’ve had significant seizures of drugs,” reports RTE.
“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 noted that efforts to monitor potential human trafficking are being intensified, reports RTE.
“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, reports RTE.
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