Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The so-called Brexit referendum to determine whether Britain and the North of Ireland should remain in the European Union will take place on 23 June. The prospect of such an exit is a cause of major concern for many people, including for those living in Border counties north and south of the Border. There is a dread among many people regarding the implications of such an exit and not least among people living in my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan.

There is no doubt that a North of Ireland exit would harden the divisions between North and South on this island, with the potential for the reintroduction of customs checkpoints, trading tariffs and adverse knock-on effects for all-Ireland economic activity and co-operation. This would reaffirm and harden the Border and could be the most intense development on the Border landscape since partition. A British and North of Ireland exit would also damage the agri-economy, especially in the Six Counties, and have huge negative impacts on many local businesses. Ultimately it is clear that such an exit would have implications for the natural trade pattern that has grown across this island.

Aside from the negative implications on trade, from the get-go Sinn Féin has strongly criticised the referendum structure as undemocratic, because if the North of Ireland votes to remain in the European Union but the overall result is to leave, the wishes of the people of the North are not respected. Due to the sheer differences in population, it is clear that the result therefore will be dependent on the wishes of English voters. English voters should not be allowed to decide Ireland's relationship with the European Union. If there is a vote in Britain to leave the European Union, there is a democratic imperative to provide Irish citizens with the right to vote in a Border poll to end partition and to retain a role in the European Union, if that is the choice of the people of Ireland. The Good Friday Agreement provides for a Border poll to be conducted, with Britain bound to legislate for any change arising.

Given the enormous significance of these issues, my colleague and the North's Deputy First Minister, Mr. Martin McGuinness, has asked the British Secretary of State, Ms Theresa Villiers, to provide a British Government commitment to an immediate Border poll in the event that Britain votes to leave the European Union. I call on the Taoiseach and the Minister for Foreign Affairs similarly to press their respective British Government counterparts.

My party is by no means a champion of the European Union as we know it today. We continue to believe that the European Union needs radical reform and on that basis we critically engage with it. We recognise and are deeply concerned that the EU is moving further away from its original emphasis on a socially progressive Europe and towards a right-wing agenda, and we will continue to challenge this. We see a role for European co-operation and a more progressive European Union. We are working with other like-minded political parties across Europe to make this a reality.

What is required now is for all of us to work collectively and to voice our vigorous opposition to a British and North of Ireland exit. Let no one jeopardise our chances of all-Ireland economic recovery and of furthering the peace and political processes that we have worked so hard to build. Let us ensure by our continuing efforts that the social, cultural, economic and political gains made over the past 18 years, since the Good Friday Agreement was so overwhelmingly endorsed, are built upon in the interest of our island and all its people.

See this speech in context