Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am disappointed at the decision of the UK to remove itself from the European Union, the implications of which are unclear in terms of how it may pan out from a UK point of view. I fail to see any significant upside from the point of view of the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland. As mentioned by other speakers, it is important the EU takes cognisance of the factors that led to the vote result and that it takes them on board in terms of how Europe operates into the future. The EU must work hard to ensure it does not lose the faith of its citizens, as has happened in Britain and as reflected among a number of the electorate in the Republic and other parts of Europe. It is also important that the response from Europe is a united one and that we do not see, as happened in the past few weeks, a repeat of the meeting of the six founding members. That is not the approach that is required. The angry response of Europe in terms of its statement that the UK needs to leave and to do so now is also not appropriate despite the disappointment among European member states in regard to the step that the UK has taken.

As Opposition spokesperson on agriculture, I will touch on a couple of key points which are critical to the agriculture sector. In terms of our exports to Britain, the percentage of agricultural exports is much higher than the percentage of exports from the other trades, with approximately 40% of our agricultural produce being exported to Britain and the percentage of exports across the wider economy amounting to only 20%. As such, we should be concerned about the potential impact on agriculture of the UK decision. Half of our beef exports, over two thirds of our meat exports and one third of our dairy exports are traded into Britain. We have already seen the impact of the fall in sterling in that regard.

Our immediate objective, in terms of the Government's engagement with our European counterparts, should be to position ourselves in a central position in the negotiations with the UK. It goes without saying that we must ensure that tariffs are as minimal as possible and that as far as is possible the common trade area which has existed can continue to exist. The starting point for the World Trade Organization members' tariffs on coming into the EU is 14.5%. If anything of that nature were to be considered in relation to the relationship with the UK, it would have significant implications for Irish agriculture.

It is important there is certainty provided for in the CAP budget between now and 2020 in relation to future farm incomes in the Republic. On that note, there are particular difficulties for Northern Ireland farmers in that in terms of the decision taken this year where £236 million from the CAP budget went to Northern Ireland farmers while the total net income of farm families was £183 million, meaning that the average income was less than the average CAP payment. This raises significant problems.

Overall, I fail to see how Northern Ireland can benefit in any way from the decision that has been made. Up until now it has struggled to be a destination for foreign direct investment. The Northern Ireland economy is operating at under-capacity. With the UK decision to remove itself from the common market, there are fewer reasons international investors would choose Northern Ireland as a potential destination for investment. I come from County Donegal, 95% of the border of which is with Northern Ireland. If Northern Ireland is doing well and if the economy there grows, it has significant potential for Border counties to do well also. In that regard, the implications of the decision that has been made are worrying.

I urge the Government to ensure that Ireland gets to play a central role in relation to the response that has not happened to date. It is important that a united European response is forthcoming quickly, with Ireland at its core.

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