To ask the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs whether departmental staff were (i) retained for inspection duties at the Port of Larne when the Port wasn’t operating; and (ii) whether they were transferred for duties at other locations.

Following P&O’s announcement on 17 March 2022 to suspend sailings into the Port of Larne, a review of staffing requirements across portal operations was completed. Following the review, the majority of Larne based officials were re-deployed to Belfast Port to assist with the increased flow of goods entering NI via this route. A small core group of permanent and agency staff were retained at Larne Port to complete the necessary checks on those imported livestock, which have arrived through Belfast and are subsequently transported to Larne for inspection. Those agency staff specifically tasked with handling freight at Larne Port have been temporarily stood down.