Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this very important matter for discussion and I am glad that the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Deenihan, is present to reply.

A report published today by the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, highlights the possible economic implications of a British exit from the European Union for Ireland across four areas - trade, foreign direct investment, energy and migration. The findings make for sobering reading and it is clear from the report that the consequences for Ireland would be far reaching and wide-ranging. Among the findings is that it is estimated that a Brexit could reduce bilateral trade flows between Ireland and Britain by 20% or more. In addition, less foreign direct investment is likely to result in slower economic growth in Britain which, in turn, would impact negatively on Ireland's economic growth. The report also highlights the fact that the all-island electricity market has been in place since 2007 and that if the electricity market in Britain remains independent of the rest of the European Union, interconnection with Britain only would leave Ireland vulnerable to problems in the British market.

In terms of migration, the report underscores the point that a British exit from the European Union would open up the possibility of restrictions on the free movement of people between Ireland and Britain for the purposes of work. As we all know, Britain has long been a destination for many Irish people seeking work, particularly during times of high unemployment, and an exit from the European Union could have significant repercussions for the Irish labour market. We were all very glad that for a period of seven or eight years, from 2000 onwards, there was huge migration back to Ireland from Britain of former Irish emigrants.

The findings of the ESRI's report are stark and underscore the seriousness of this issue. The referendum will take place in the not too distant future and it is clear that we need to start a national conversation on the implications of a Brexit and what it would mean, not only for Ireland but for the European Union as a whole. If Britain was to leave the European Union, the nature of the most successful transnational organisation ever created would be irrevocably changed.

We in Fianna Fáil believe awareness needs to be created across all of the country of the gravity of this issue in terms of trade, employment, tourism, agriculture, fisheries and food, the free movement of people and, of course, the situation in Northern Ireland. Britain is our nearest neighbour and largest trading partner. We are the only people in the European Union who share a land border with the British jurisdiction. If people in Britain were to vote to leave the European Union, the knock-on effects would be felt the length and breadth of the country, particularly in the Border counties, including my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan. Farmers and food processors, North and South, depend on access to the EU market of 500 million people. The business community would suffer badly from a situation where there was a new border across the Six Counties, a regulatory border that would divide the island once more.

We must re-establish EU solidarity. This is vital if we are to convince Britain and Northern Ireland to remain part of the European Union. The normal EU spirit of solidarity and co-operation between member states is best illustrated in the Border region. Peace programme funding has been vital in supporting the fledgling Agreement framework. Co-operation between the North and the South and between Ireland and Britain has been the engine of the Good Friday Agreement. Our role as co-guarantors of the Agreement binds us together. The Irish and British Governments are co-guarantors of an international agreement lodged with the United Nations. North and South, we have to maximise the potential of the Good Friday Agreement for the good of all of the people on all of the Island. These links were forged in the common ground of the European Union and need to last.

See this speech in context