The Government has published its contingency plans for a no-deal Brexit, with the Tánaiste admitting it makes for "sobering reading".
A newly-published 'contingency action plan' says a no-deal scenario would pose extremely difficult challenges for Ireland and warns action would need to be taken quickly.
It says more land will need to be bought at Dublin and Rosslare ports, while extra staff are taken on to deal with customs checks.
However, there's little in the document about how to avoid a hard border with Northern Ireland, or how to deal with fisheries.
Some 45 pieces of legislative changes will be needed in the event of no-deal and less than half of those can be brought in before March 29th.
Tánaiste Simon Coveney has said in the case of others skeleton agreements will be drawn up before the UK's exit that can be fleshed out quickly to limit damage.
This is effectively what the Taoiseach has been calling the 'no-deal deal', and what UK officials are briefing as a managed no-deal.
It would relate to issues like air travel, so planes could still travel point-to-point in and out of the UK.
The document warns that a no-deal Brexit would require an immediate focus on crisis management.
It says temporary economic, political, administrative and legislative solutions would have to be put in place quickly while waiting for a longer term deal to surface.
Tánaiste concedes there’s no contingency plans in this document for avoiding a hard border or for fisheries #Brexit
— Sean Defoe (@SeanDefoe) December 19, 2018
The Government's documents warn there may be significant delays on goods travelling in and out of the country in the days following a no-deal because of bottlenecks, particularly on the Dover-Calais route.
The Government has also insisted there won't be food shortages in Ireland in the event of a cliff-edge Brexit.
However, officials said they are examining how to ensure a consistent and adequate supply of medicines as the UK stockpiles certain drugs.
Irish imports and exports rely heavily on the landbridge - Irish goods passing through the UK on their way to Europe or elsewhere.
The full plan can be found here.
