The Minister for Finance has announced on several occasions that his Department has recruited additional customs staff and that those staff require training. First, how many of the staff are now trained and in place, particularly in the Border area? Second, in the context of the horrific attack on Kevin Lunney-----

The Deputy can only ask one question.

-----has there been any exploration of using the Belfast agreement for an all-island arrangement in regard to customs? Frankly, many businesses, particularly small and medium-sized businesses, are terrified about what is going to happen in the event of difficulties with the Brexit arrangements.

Please, Deputy.

The Government is not doing anything to help them.

Time is up.

Its courses and town hall meetings are not cutting the mustard when it comes to meeting the real needs of businesses, particularly smaller ones.

I thank the Deputy for raising that matter. I reassure her that we have a broad suite of supports available to help businesses. We have held numerous events and had numerous contacts. My Department, through the Companies Registration Office, sent 220,000 emails to businesses outlining the supports available. There are nine steps they can take.

Regarding Border checks, as the Deputy knows, we do not want to see any infrastructure again on the Border. We do not want to see a hard border, but we know that there will have to be checks. As soon as we have information on where the checks will be made, we will let businesses know. Other than that, there are many things they can do. They can look at their supply chains, avail of the two Brexit loan funds-----

How many customs officers are there?

Customs officers have been employed.

How many? Does the Minister know?

I do not have the figure off the top of my head, but I think there are 200 Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine officials. I think an additional 400 customs staff have been employed by Revenue.

Are they in place?

Are they in place?