Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Okay, I will take what I need. Thank you.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this significant and concerning matter for Ireland. It is not something we want to be talking about here but, at the same time, we as a nation need to make our feelings known. I support fully the issue of the UK remaining in the EU. It is our nearest neighbour. Not only do we share a very extensive Border of 500 km, we also have a unique relationship also with the UK. While I understand we are all aware of it, it is up to the electorate in the UK to decide what it wants to do. However, it is critically important for us to let our views be known and to consider very carefully and plan for the negative outcome we hope will not happen. We have a responsibility to ourselves to ensure we are prepared for this outcome and to let people who have votes, whether they are Irish citizens living in the UK or British citizens living here, know that we urge them to vote against the UK leaving the European Union. It is critical that we do that.

The European People's Movement has been very active in this regard. It requested those of us who care about this matter to contact friends and family here and in the UK who have votes and urge them to register and exercise their opportunity to vote. The figures are significant. I understand in Ireland alone almost 500,000 people can vote.

I refer to our relationship with the UK. In the UK one person in four has some Irish heritage, which is a significant number. Some 60,000 company directors in the UK are Irish born. Our annual trade is in the order of €62 billion and is growing. These are very significant figures, which we must protect and grow.

The UK is our alley at the table in the European Parliament. We joined the EEC at the same time back in 1973 and have a very strong track record of working together and being allies in terms of protecting ourselves when decisions are being made.

If the electorate in the UK rejects membership of the European Union, the impact on Ireland will be far-reaching. The economic impacts will include trade, foreign direct investment and the labour market. The diplomatic effects will include the peace process efforts and the relationships between countries. The funding that comes from the European Union to assist the peace process has been significant.

In terms of migration, the restriction of freedom of movement will have an impact on people moving between the UK and Ireland and vice versa. There is a long history of Irish people working in the UK. What will happen to passport controls? Will they be reintroduced? That would be a horrendous prospect.

Worse again are border controls. As a child I recall very clearly holidaying on the Border with my mother, who was a Leitrim woman. We regularly travelled across the Border to Fermanagh. I remember in Ballyconnell, where Border control used to be, young-faced British soldiers checked that we were who we appeared to be. I remember the discomfort and not knowing exactly why I did not feel happy about the situation as a child, but knowing that it felt wrong. On another occasion we saw a British army training exercise.

I fear that we would return to border controls, which would be regressive for us as a society. There is a generation in our society who do not remember any of that, and that is how we would like to keep it. It is one of the most important issues. We do not know whether it will happen, but I would not like to see it happening.

I refer to energy. We have a very good relationship with the North of Ireland. There has been an all-Ireland market since 2007 and interconnection between North and South is very important. In fact, it is more important to the North because it does not have the electricity generation capacity that we have. We are a very important neighbour in that regard. Therefore, it would be a major challenge for us all, in terms of our climate change responsibilities, if Britain exited the EU, because the EU has rules around what it expects all of us to do to adjust to the impact of climate change on our country and planet.

What would happen in the UK if it was no longer subject to EU rules on climate policy? It is something of great concern to us. Climate change is the number one policy challenge for every country, not only in the European Union but in the world, and it will have to be the root of all policy decision-making across all departments, in particular the Departments of the Environment, Community and Local Government; Agriculture, Marine and Food; and Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. We will face major challenges, which will not be helped if our nearest neighbour is doing something completely different.

A new Teagasc report released this month highlighted concerns for the Irish dairy and beef sector. It is concerned about the impact the UK's exit would have on the Irish agrifood expert sector which, as we know, is very important for our economy and has been growing every year. The figures it released are sobering. Irish agrifood exports were worth close to €11 billion in 2014. The UK is our number one export destination, which is incredible.

We need to be very conscious that there will be an impact on various sectors. We do not want to be fatalistic, but we must be realistic about to where this might bring us as a country when we have worked so hard over the past number of years to recover our economic sovereignty. If the UK votes to leave the EU, we may be faced with an enormous challenge which will have earth-shattering effects on our country and society.

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