Permanent facilities for Brexit checks at NI ports will not be ready ‘until 2023’

A cargo crate being moved in Belfast Port (Niall Carson/PA)

Permanent facilities for post-Brexit checks at Northern Ireland ports will not be operating before 2023, MLAs have been told.

The senior official in the Stormont department responsible for the construction said the delay was due to ongoing uncertainty over the volume of regulatory inspections that will be required when grace periods limiting the red tape end.