I propose to take Questions Nos. 377, 378, 387, 388, 391 and 397 together.
While respecting that the question of the UK’s membership of the EU is for its electorate to decide, I continue to set out the Irish Government’s view on this matter during my contacts with political, business and community contacts here on the island of Ireland, in Britain and in the EU.
Ireland offers a unique perspective as a neighbour, as a fellow EU member state, as a €62 billion-a-year trading partner and as a co-guarantor of successive agreements aimed at securing peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland. The Government’s core view – which I believe enjoys wide consensus in Ireland – is that we want the UK to remain a member of the EU.
Within the context of the Government’s ongoing work on this issue, I travelled to London on 5 April for a visit that encompassed a meeting with UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, contacts with the opposition Labour Party, meetings with leading members of the Irish Community and engagement with the Irish community media in the UK. I also met last week with a cross-section of Irish employers and business groups to hear their views on the referendum and to hear what actions they were taking.
My Department, through its diplomatic staff in Dublin, across Britain and Northern Ireland, in Brussels and further afield, continues to work actively on this issue and to contribute to wider Government efforts coordinated by the Department of the Taoiseach.
An important focus of my visit to London on 5 April was to meet members of the Irish community and to engage with Irish community media in the UK. I met with over 30 Irish community and business organisations and encouraged them to inform and involve their members, most of whom as Irish citizens resident in the UK are eligible to vote in this referendum. According to the 2011 Census for England and Wales and the 2011 Census for Scotland, there are 601,917 people born on the island of Ireland resident in Britain, while it is also estimated that up to one in four people in Britain may have Irish heritage.
Some leading individuals in the Irish community have also come together to form an independent campaign group, Irish4Europe, and I met with them to hear of their plans for the coming weeks in the run-up to the referendum on 23 June.
During my meeting with the Foreign Secretary, I recalled that the Irish Government had been very active in helping to secure a settlement on the UK’s EU membership at the February European Council. I also reiterated Ireland’s clear view in support of the UK Government’s wish for the UK to remain in the EU.
I meet regularly with my EU counterparts at meetings of the Foreign Affairs Council and use every opportunity to raise the issue of the EU-UK relationship with them, and to outline Ireland's perspective and the need to work together with a view to helping to keep the UK in the EU. This all contributed to the work of EU Heads of State and Government at the European Council, and by Ministers at the General Affairs Council.
I and my officials also discuss the matter with the Northern Ireland Parties and with civic society groups, in particular underlining our view that EU has made – and continues to make – a significant contribution to the promotion of peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland.
The British Embassy has estimated that approximately 120,000 British citizens living in Ireland will be eligible to vote and I welcome and support the active outreach efforts undertaken by the Embassy in encouraging their citizens living here to register and vote in this referendum. It is hoped that the regular statements by government and by other political, civil society, media and economic commentators will help to inform their vote.
Determining the full implications for Ireland of a British withdrawal from the EU – should it occur - is not possible without knowing the terms and conditions of its future relationship with the EU, which would take a number of years to negotiate.
Nonetheless, the Government is of course evaluating the potential impacts of a possible British exit from the EU and the steps which may be necessary to mitigate against the risks arising from this. The ESRI has also conducted research on this issue, as have others including the Central Bank, the NTMA, Teagasc and IBEC.
