Poots’ Sunday lunch fears a trifle silly: MLA
EDWIN Poots (above) has been accused of “trying to wind people up” after suggesting that the traditional roast beef dinner could be hit by the NI Protocol.
The Agriculture Minister told MLAS that “you can have your roast beef dinner but you might not have Bisto on it. You might not have a nice bit of trifle after it either ... because you do not have any jelly”.
Alliance’s Stewart Dickson described the comments as “silly”.
EDWIN Poots has been accused of “trying to wind people up” after he suggested processed goods like jelly or gravy could be unavailable here after the end of the Protocol grace period.
The Agriculture Minister acknowledged we had plenty of homegrown beef and potatoes, but warned MLAS trimmings like Bisto or trifle could be missing from traditional Sunday dinners.
A soft-touch three-month period has been negotiated with the EU for regulating supermarket goods transported here from Britain following the end of the transition period.
The DUP man said: “We do not need these barriers. We need common sense, particularly from the EU. We need a message going out from all of our companies that we do not need barriers which are going to put costs on.”
He also stood by his claim that school and hospital supplies could be affected once the grace period ends.
Some supermarket shelves were depleted this month as suppliers grappled with new rules over sending goods from Britain to Northern Ireland.
The Protocol means we follow the EU’S rules on matters like animal product standards, and it creates extra paperwork on goods travelling across the Irish Sea from Britain.
Economy Minister Diane Dodds warned of the impact on products like steel, which could face tariffs of up to 25%.
It is deemed by the EU to be at risk of entering the single market after arrival.
Mrs Dodds said she held talks with Cabinet Minister Michael Gove on Friday and expected a Government statement in the coming days.
“We do not want Northern Ireland’s manufacturers to be uncompetitive in their marketplace, nor do we want Northern Ireland’s manufacturers to feel that they have to move to Great Britain in order to continue their manufacturing process,” she said.
Mrs Dodds also called for the “chaos” at the Port of Dublin to be sorted out — many goods make their way across the border from there.
Ulster Unionist MLA John Stewart later said: “No matter what the DUP might say, they did support Boris Johnson’s proposals in October 2019, which included a border in the Irish Sea and border inspection posts.
“Those actions created the problems we are now facing. The minister herself said in December 2017: ‘There will be no internal trade borders within the UK’.
She now needs to make good on her own words.”
Alliance MLA Stewart Dickson said: “I suppose if you’re the Economy Minister you do have to say the positive things like Diane Dodds did (that work was ongoing to address the problem), and if you’re the Agriculture Minister and you’re trying to wind people up, then you might make silly remarks about no jelly and Bisto on the table for Sunday dinner.”
Supermarket giant Sainsbury’s said: “A small number of our products are temporarily unavailable for our customers in Northern Ireland while border arrangements are confirmed.
“We were prepared for this and our customers will find a wide range of alternative products instore in the meantime, and we are working hard to get back to our full, usual range soon.”