Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have great problems with this issue, which we have been debating for a while. It is almost a fog, an if-and-but situation being repeated constantly. Although some people have told us there will definitely be a referendum, we do not know if there will be because the Prime Minister, David Cameron, must get an overall majority. We have been examining whether it is possible. The politicians in Northern Ireland will have a role, particularly the Unionists, given that Sinn Féin, as eurosceptics, will presumably opt out of the debate. Maybe Sinn Féin might opt in, for the first time, in addressing a very serious issue in the European context. There is also a potential role for Scotland. It is very difficult to address the implications of England opting out of Europe. Is it possible to bring the UK out of Europe? What, precisely, are the reforms?

The process would take years. First, Mr. Cameron would have to win an overall majority in the election, after which some sort of negotiations could start. Presumably, it would take years for the British Parliament to debate the exact reforms they are seeking. Then, there would be a long debate in Europe on whether or not it is possible. If the EU concedes, the unravelling or opting out would take years. I do not want to be disrespectful to anybody. We have regular representation from the British Embassy at these meetings. The British ambassador might convey to Mr. Cameron that the committee had deliberated on the issue and that speaker after speaker after speaker had pointed out that the negative effects for Great Britain and Ireland would be so damning that Mr. Cameron should review his position.

Situations have evolved recently. Ireland was way ahead of the British when we extended employment rights to citizens of Romania and Bulgaria, and the British went ballistic about these so-called "welfare tourists". We saw what happened at the airports when they were all coming for work. The Irish Government has just created 70,000 new Irish from 160 countries in the world. It is widely accepted internationally that immigrants are incredibly productive and involved in seeking employment and that they do not come to sponge on the welfare system. Switzerland recently held a referendum on immigration and passed a law to restrict immigration using quotas. Since then, they have realised it is not operable. Would it be worth reminding the British of this?

The Acting Chairman mentioned the House of Lords, for which I have great respect, and this provoked me into thinking that it does an extremely good job of analysing the EU process. Maybe, at the end of the whole set of debates, we should engage with the House of Lords on the issue. Of all the intellectuals and business people who have come here to discuss this, not one has predicted a positive outcome from what the UK intends to do. I would like us to compile all our documentation and go to the House of Lords and engage with them, or invite them here to engage with us. We must engage with them in order to achieve clarity at the end of this debate.