As an update to the ongoing Brexit negotiations, the UK government has confirmed to the EU it will enhance inspection posts at Northern Ireland’s ports in order to deliver on the Brexit deal. Junior Minister Declan Kearney told a Stormont committee that the Northern Ireland Executive had been given a briefing by officials on Monday on the latest stage of Brexit negotiations between the UK government and the EU.

This communication took place via letters, which have been understood to have been exchanged in the last two weeks, focused on what are known as Border Control Posts (BCPs). Under the Brexit deal, reached in October 2019, Northern Ireland will continue to follow EU single market rules on agricultural and manufactured goods.

The EU has strict rules on the entry of animals and food products into the single market, and these products must always enter the single market through designed BCPs. Therefore, the establishment of BCPs at Northern Ireland’s ports was always going to be a consequence of the Brexit deal.