Revenue has warned an open Border between the Republic and Northern Ireland is not possible and that eight customs checks and visible border controls may be required.

In a report published this week, Revenue advises of the economic consequences for Ireland arising from a British exit from the European Union.

The report concludes it is naive to believe a unique arrangement can be negotiated and applied to the Republic and the United Kingdom.

Three or four designated crossings may be applied to the Border between the North and the Republic, which is 500km in length.

However, it adds: “A final scenario of somewhere in the region of eight designated crossing points is not inconceivable.”

“The staffing and infrastructure costs associated with such an outcome, along with the physical infrastructure required to facilitate efficient processing at these sites, will make this a significant project.”

Revenue began this work before the result of the British referendum was known. It completed its work in September 2016.

The agency has stressed this was preliminary work and does not take account of key decisions that have been adopted since that juncture.

Contained in the report is a clear insistence that an open Border is almost impossible.

Choice
The choice, it says, is between a hard Border as applicable in some parts of the European Union or a soft Border, which applies between the EU and Norway or Switzerland. Both come consequences, Revenue warns.

First published here.