UFU president William Irvine on his County Armagh farm. Picture: Cliff Donaldson
The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) has expressed outrage and profound frustration at the latest debacle surrounding the movement of used agricultural machinery from Great Britain to Northern Ireland. The UFU has lambasted the Government, accusing it of a blatant disregard for Northern Ireland’s agri industry, broken promises and a staggering lack of understanding of practical agricultural realities.
Industry received an utterly unacceptable mere five working days’ notice – an email on Friday 13 June for implementation on the 23 June – regarding significant changes to inspection requirements. This timeline, coupled with a fundamental failure in communication from Government.
Commenting UFU president William Irvine said, “The notion that our industry, already grappling with complex post-Brexit realities, can absorb such a drastic operational change with a paltry five working days’ warning is beyond absurd. It demonstrates an astonishing disconnect between policymakers and the gritty realities of farming life. Government have proven themselves inadequate in communicating these vital messages to those who actually move machinery between GB and NI.”
The UFU highlights that this latest imposition flies in the face of explicit assurances made by the government over a year ago. Previous commitments outlined a path for dealers and farmers to continue benefiting from the straightforward Northern Ireland Plant Health Label (NIPHL) for machinery staying in NI, alongside a promise to simplify requirements for those seeking onward movement to the EU via an extended Plant Health Exports Audited Trader Scheme (PHEATS) or accelerated APHA inspections.
“We were promised a ‘simple and easy to use’ NIPHL, with a ‘new communications campaign’ to ensure its benefits were well understood. We were told of extending the PHEATS scheme, allowing GB businesses to self-inspect for onward EU sales, or accelerated APHA inspections within two days for smaller volumes. These were solemn commitments, uttered by the government itself, to provide flexibility and ease. What we have witnessed, however, is a cynical dismantling of those assurances. Promises made over a year ago have been broken,” said Mr Irvine.
The government’s claim that these checks are designed to facilitate a better relationship between the UK and the EU has, in reality, resulted in nothing but added pain for Northern Ireland consumers and businesses.
“Furthermore, the decision that machinery entering NI under the NIPHL can never enter the Republic of Ireland clearly demonstrates a profound lack of understanding about cross-border trade and the very nature of farms that straddle the border. This isn’t about protecting our island; it’s about bureaucratic overkill that fails to grasp basic agricultural and economic geography,” said Mr Irvine.
The UFU stresses that this entire episode is yet another stark reminder that lessons are simply not being learned by the government when it comes to Windsor Framework implementation and communication. This continued pattern of short-notice impositions and broken pledges continues to cause deep concern and undermine confidence within the agricultural sector.
