Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank Sir Bill Cash. I have two questions for him. His script states, "In any event it would continue to be in the mutual interests of the member states of the EU and the UK to continue to trade and to achieve political co-operation, even if we were outside the EU". In the event of an exit, some would say the quid pro quorelationship would not be possible. The model would be more akin to the Swiss and Norwegian models, whereby the UK, in order to gain access to the Single Market, would have to make a contribution to the EU budget and adopt certain rules, regulations and legislation enacted in the Union. What is Sir Bill Cash’s view on that? He referred to the imbalance in trade and stated it is in the interest of the Union to continue to trade. He alluded to the United Kingdom having a population of 70 million and to a market of potentially 430 million to 440 million people. Is he convinced there could be a relationship of equals?

My second question is on the motivation for an exit from the EU. A remarkable aspect of Sir Bill Cash’s contribution, on which I could be wrong, is that I did not hear the word “immigration” mentioned once. The Irish audience often hears that the United Kingdom’s motivation is based on immigration. Members of the committee visited the United Kingdom recently to discuss this issue with political colleagues and organisations there. It was put to us clearly that there are two groups interested in pushing the issue of renegotiation or Brexit. One is concerned with the sovereignty issue, and that is very much what Sir Bill Cash has been discussing this afternoon. The other concerns immigration and what is perceived to be a large number of additional immigrants entering the country over recent years.

I have a question on how the latter issue affects us in Ireland. As Sir Bill Cash knows, we had the common travel area before the European Union was founded. Ireland, along with the United Kingdom, has opted out of the Schengen agreement. One motive behind an exit would be the desire to control the amount of immigration into the United Kingdom. I include immigrants from countries within the European Union. One could expect to see some restrictions placed on the entry of French citizens, for instance, yet those citizens could fly directly to Dublin from Paris and get a train to Belfast, thus entering the United Kingdom without having to show any passport. Alternatively, they could drive through the open borders. A French citizen who decides to visit or work illegally in the United Kingdom could fly to Ireland and make his way across the Border. Ireland is probably the only country from which this could be achieved. If French citizens entered the United Kingdom via the English Channel, they would have to show some sort of identification or ticket to do so. How would this work? How could those who are concerned about the level of immigration into the United Kingdom be convinced that suitable structures would be put in place at the Irish end to prevent people using Ireland as a back door into the Untied Kingdom?

I invite Senator Kathryn Reilly to ask her questions, and she is to be followed by Deputy Eric Byrne.