Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to assure all Deputies that we all will be as prepared at as it is possible to be in the circumstances. It is not possible for the European Union or any individual member state to fully prepare for a possible vote by the UK to leave the European Union. This is because the terms and conditions of the arrangements to be put in place would only become clear through a long process of negotiation, which could well be at least two years.

If the United Kingdom votes to leave the European Union, a number of very different scenarios could be envisaged. I assure the Deputy that the Government will continue to plan in order to be fully prepared for any and all contingencies that may arise. Accordingly, all Government Departments have been working for some time to identify key strategic and sectoral issues that could arise in terms of our national interest should the UK decide to vote to leave the European Union. In the meantime, our priority is to ensure that the Irish voice is heard on this issue.

It is within our national strategic interest and in the interests of the ever-improving British-Irish relations that the British people and those in Northern Ireland, having been fully informed, will vote to remain within the European Union.

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