Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I also want to welcome Mr. Gilmore here today and thank him for his comprehensive report. I have a couple of brief questions. I would like to hear a little bit more of Mr. Gilmore's thinking behind the idea of a referendum. While not opposing it, just to play devil's advocate, there is an agreement so what would happen if we said we had to have a referendum here? Once the election was lost in the UK, the Irish economy started losing ground the next morning due to insecurity in money markets and the falling value of sterling. If the markets perceived that this agreement is bad and we had to have a referendum which would take a minimum of six months, would it not possibly be detrimental for our economy to make a commitment for a referendum on the agreed outcome? It would push the boat out a bit further and leave our entire economy, including cross-Border trade, wide open. I am not opposing Mr. Gilmore's idea but I am asking him to elaborate on it. I would like to hear the pros and cons.

I would also like to hear Mr. Gilmore's personal opinion, as an eminent former politician and member of the Labour Party, on the whys and why nots of Theresa May calling the general election when she did. What role can Mr. Gilmore's sister party in the UK play? We all know where they are at the moment, but what role can they play from the British perspective on Brexit, which may or may not be advantageous for us in future? If Mr. Gilmore was a member of the British Labour Party where would he take it in the context of the full Brexit scenario?