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

I was due in Belfast on Friday but because of the murder of Jo Cox, I had to curtail my canvassing, as did the Deputy. I am very concerned about the absence of contingency planning. In the discussions I had with the Independents on the formation of Government, it was very clear to us that very little scenario planning in terms of the economy or the impact on agriculture had been undertaken by Government Departments. There have been some academic papers published but there would appear to be a lot of prayer and hope that it goes the right way as opposed to any considered contingency planning.

In terms of the European Council meeting next week, there are two responses - one in the event of a "Yes" vote for Brexit and the second in the context of a "No" vote. If there is a "Yes" vote, it is extremely important that we have a prepared position as a country going into that council meeting. Cool heads should prevail. In the aftermath of Lisbon, we had to move in very quickly to the Foreign Affairs Council to make sure that hotheads did not get their day which would have set everybody back. Likewise, whatever the result, we need cool heads and a considered and reflective view by the European Union and by this Parliament. If a decision to break with the EU is taken, we need calm and cool heads in the aftermath of that and planning and proper preparation of the best strategy for Ireland. Ireland will face unique challenges as a member of the European Union and because of its historical special relationship with Britain in terms of the common travel area, trade and exports which have to be protected in any new scenario. If the vote is "No", which I hope it is, and Britain remains, I would equally suggest that we should seize the moment at the European Council meeting and say to our European colleagues that this is a moment for reflection and a moment when real lessons have to be learned about how Europe is going about its business. There is significant disconnect between the citizens of Europe and the European institutions.

I have been pointing at this over quite a number of years and there has been a lot of work and research done on this. There have been attempts in terms of the democratisation of the parliament to make it more connected. It is extremely important that the debate in Britain fuels a wider debate across Europe on how we can reconnect the values, principles and ideals of the European Union with citizens on the ground - in other words, the idealism and energy that led to the post-war leaders, the people who saw that nationalist or independent, isolationist pursuits led to conflict, coming together in international partnerships to prevent world wars and horrific consequences. In the bigger picture, Europe has succeeded in that respect. There is a lot of talk about subsidiarity in terms of decision making, but it has not happened.

In terms of the hierarchy of decision making, Europe is still involved too much at the lower level of minutiae and detail on the ground which should be left to national parliaments and national Governments. There is a lot of work to be done at the European Council meeting. Irrespective of the outcome, but particularly if it is a "No" to Brexit and Britain remains in the European Union, which is what I believe would be in the best interest of Britain, Ireland, Europe and the world, we should use it as an opportunity for really serious reflection by all across Europe to make sure that the idealism of the original concept is brought back to centre stage of European politics.

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