David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to make statements on this important issue. It is worrying for many people across Europe, and especially in Ireland, because people are trying to work out what the consequences of Brexit would be if that were the wish of the people who will have a vote on that issue in Britain. Of course it is a matter for the British people; they will have to make up their own minds and respect should be shown for the different opinions people have on this issue. I agree with some of those here who have said we should not play into the politics of fear, because we have had many referendums on Europe where people from outside Ireland did play into the politics of fear, on both sides of the arguments. However, there are genuine concerns, and we have to articulate those concerns, because of the impact it could have on the North and on the entire island of Ireland, socially and economically. It is reasonable for us to have a debate and it is reasonable for us to articulate our concerns.

I have always had a critical engagement with the European Union. I think that is healthy when one considers what has happened over the last ten years and particularly in the last few years with the economic crash and the role played by the EU institutions in allowing that to develop, and the fact that the neoliberal economic agenda, which is dominant across Europe, comes largely from the institutions of the EU. It is the prevailing economic orthodoxy within Europe. We know there is a democratic deficit at the heart of Europe and there is a real disconnect between unelected bureaucrats in Brussels and ordinary citizens across the EU. That is playing out to some extent in this referendum as well.

There is also no doubt that there are very reactionary right-wing forces driving the agenda in Britain. This is coming from the more right-wing elements of the British Tory party, from UKIP and from xenophobic voices within Britain. I also have no truck with any of those voices who are using this referendum campaign to peddle that right-wing and far-right agenda, which is also in the ascendancy in many countries in Europe. That is one of the consequences of the failure of politics in Europe to react to the economic crisis and to deal with the real problems caused by the policy failures in respect of banking and massive unemployment in working class communities right across Europe - there is 40%-50% unemployment in some parts of Europe. Of course that is going to breed disconnect and force people to question whether those big institutions that make up the EU are democratic and are working in the best interests of citizens.

It is right and proper to have a critical engagement with the European Union, but I also see the potential and the promise of what a more democratic and social Europe would look like. It is not just laudable and aspirational, but also possible to have a Europe of equals, which focuses on the major social problems that affect us all, right across the European Union, whether we are on the left or the right. I am on the left and I work with progressive forces across Europe in order to make sure workers' rights, access to public health services, fair and just taxation and decent work and pay are delivered not only for citizens in this State or on the island of Ireland but across Europe. There is huge potential to have a Europe of equals. We have to be making those arguments in the context of the referendum in Britain and the potential consequences it has for the North.

2 o’clock

The prospect of increased or full withdrawal by the British state from the EU has negative implications for Ireland, North and South. It would represent a major setback for the political process in the North and directly challenge the integrity of the Good Friday Agreement as an international binding treaty. It would also undermine all-Ireland co-operation and potentially harden partition.

One of the advocates of Brexit is the British Secretary of State to the North, Theresa Villiers. As the British Secretary of State, she has been asked on several occasions to outline how she believes Brexit is in the interest of the people of the North and so far she has refused to do so or has been unable to do so. She was also asked to explain how the lost European funding to the North, which would inevitably be a consequence of Brexit, would be replaced. She has failed to explain how that would be done. They are very serious issues because Brexit is opposite to the interest of the people in the Six Counties, from whatever background they come. The combined financial loss of EU investment, subsidies and funds within the North arising from Brexit would be approximately €3.5 billion, which is very significant year on year. The reality is that the North has depended heavily on its relationship with Europe both economically and politically. The endemic patterns of social inequality, under-investment, the decades of political conflict and its consequences, the structural weaknesses of the regional economy, the limitations of the public expenditure budget and its lack of fiscal independence are issues which have been addressed by the European Union and by its institutions.

There have been a lot of positive outworkings of the benefits of membership of the European Union in the North for the citizens in the North. It is important for us to accept that. It is important for us to try to work out what Brexit would mean for the people on the island of Ireland and what would it mean for people in the North.

During the period 2007-13, an estimated 10% of the regional economy in the North's GDP was related directly to Europe in terms of investment, trade, funding and jobs - that is a reality. The arguments for Brexit made by its advocates in the British state and the North do not take account of these factors. They have failed to set out proposals which would prevent even more damage being done to the already weak structure of the economy in the North as well as the destabilising knock-on effects it would have for all-Ireland co-operation and the need for an all-island economy. The case for Brexit is not motivated or sustained by alternative and better strategies or policies. I have not heard any better alternative strategies coming from those who are advocating Brexit. Instead, it is a product of a growth of influence by narrow nationalism, mainly in the UK, which is linked to conservative Tory ideological interests. The momentum for Brexit is a reaction against a lot of different things, some of which I spoke about earlier.

The reality is that unless we address the fundamental problems that exist at the heart of the European project, including the democratic deficit which many people know exists, we will have much more questioning and many more issues arising within Europe. It does not matter whether politicians tell people that it does not exist, they know it exists because it impacts on their lives. The people who are in charge of the big institutions in Europe, many of whom are unelected, are living in a bubble and are not connected at all to the reality of many people's lives and how they see the European Union. As long as that is the case, we will have more and more problems.

Sinn Féin will not be calling for a Yes vote. We have already launched our campaign in the North. We do not believe it is in the best interests of the people on this island for Britain to exit the European Union. If it does, as a number of previous speakers have said, we will call for a Border poll in the North and South because we think that should be a natural consequence of Brexit if that is to happen. It is not what we want to happen - we do not believe it is in the best interests of the people either North or South.

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak here on this important issue and I look forward to hearing from the caretaker Ministers on the position of the Irish State on the referendum.

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