Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. My question is related to Brexit, whether the Economic Management Council has a responsibility for preparing Ireland's plans for a possible British exit from the European Union and asks whether the Taoiseach will make a statement on the matter. I take it that he is aware that the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, has confirmed that the potential loss to Ireland could be as much as €4 billion in exports and that this could have an extremely serious impact on the market here. There have already been reports that some companies are becoming risk averse and taking less business risk. Despite Members' earlier conversations on the visit by the Prime Minister of India, the bottom line is that the United Kingdom is still our most important market, particularly for the agrifood industry. In 2013, for example, it bought 50% of Ireland's beef and there were 95 IDA Ireland-backed UK companies based in Ireland. The United Kingdom is also our most important tourism market and the effect of the current favourable exchange rate between sterling and the euro can be seen in certain parts of the country that are benefiting.

When the Taoiseach met the Prime Minister, Mr. Cameron, on Brexit, he asked for Ireland's support. The backdrop to that meeting was the horrific bombings and terrorism in Paris and negotiations on Brexit rightly appear to have been put aside temporarily. Moreover, the migration crisis is also becoming difficult to resolve. However, given the significance of this issue and the potential implications for Ireland of Britain leaving the European Union, will the Taoiseach outline to Members how the Government intends to plan for it? Will he indicate whether scenario planning has been done by the Government on the referendum that will be held in Britain? The ESRI has indicated that there is a possibility of net migration of approximately 60,000 people from the United Kingdom in the event that there is a Brexit and suggests there could be an impact on wages. While the Taoiseach has indicated that a Government sub-committee is overseeing it, has an interdepartmental group been formed with overall responsibility or accountability for this issue? I ask because I get the sense there is not a strong awareness among the public about the potential implications for the economy of Britain leaving the European Union. I would appreciate it if the Taoiseach were to indicate the Government's structured response and the work that has been done to date on it.

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