A TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT plan to deal with potential chaos around Dublin Port in the scenario of a no-deal Brexit will be in place by 31 October. 

A document updating Ireland’s contingency planning for Brexit state that in a crash-out Brexit, goods entering the EU from the UK will be treated as if they come from a third country and will subject to customs declarations. 

“Additional checks and controls” will be required on UK imports and exports, it adds. 

In order facilitate the trucks that may need inspection, facilities such as a 6,000 square metre warehouse has been converted so it can accommodate 13 inspection bays. 

In light of the possible delays inspections may cause, a traffic management group has been set up for Dublin Port, which is tasked to consider the potential “knock-on impacts on the wider area of city traffic. 

Officials state they want to have “minimal disruption” to traffic in and around the Port Tunnel area as well as the East Link Bridge. 

A communications strategy has been drafted to deal with how to inform HGV drivers where to go in the case where there is build-up at Dublin Port. 

Every day, about 10,000 trucks travel through the tunnel, as well as about 15,000 cars. The Department of Transport has said it is “crucial” to keep HGV traffic away from the port if there is congestion. 

Earlier in the year, the department was exploring whether it could park lorries at one of Dublin Airport’s long-term car parks to avoid possible traffic jams on routes into Dublin Port after Brexit.

However, it is understood that this idea has been discounted. 

It is understood that Dublin City Council is working with the departmental group on the issue, in terms of how to communicate any such delays to commuters if they occur.

In order to avoid delays, the latest Brexit memo states, that “it is vital that industry prepares as fully as possible” and asks businesses to get up to speed on the documentation that it will need in order to pass through the port. 

Those with all their documentation submitted “well in advance” will go through the ‘green’ route and will experience minimal delays, but those who do not have their custom papers in order will be stopped and possibly subject to physical inspections.

Officials have said it is difficult to estimate how many lorries might fall into this category, which is why traffic management plans for the area are needed.