Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this issue. It will be difficult to say everything I wish to say in five minutes, but I will endeavour to do so.

First, I regret but respect the result of the referendum in the United Kingdom last Thursday. However, I am deeply saddened for the young people who voted by a large majority to remain in the European Union, particularly those born after 1973 and 1992. They were born as European citizens and as such - and like all of us - they have the right to travel freely, work freely and study anywhere in the European Union from the Algarve to Lapland and from Athens to Galway. That right is now being taken away from them. I hope we can find a way for those young British people to retain their European citizenship, which was their birthright, in some form.

As Minister for Social Protection, I wish to offer words of reassurance to UK pensioners in Ireland, Irish pensioners in the UK, cross-Border workers, British residents in Ireland and Irish residents in Britain, many of whom are very confused and worried at present. Their pension and employment rights and their social insurance protections and obligations remain unchanged today and will remain unchanged until such time as there is a new agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom and between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. They can be assured that this Government will work night and day to ensure that their rights are protected under the new arrangements.

For Ireland, the path ahead is uncertain and there will be difficulties. However, this is not the first time we have chosen a different course or been put on a different path from Britain's. It happened in 1922 when we became independent, in 1948 when we left the Commonwealth, in 1979 when we broke the link with sterling and in 2002 when we joined the euro and Britain did not. The Government's objective now must be threefold. First, we must put the interests of Ireland first. On some occasions, perhaps most, our interests are aligned with those of the United Kingdom but where they are not it is not our duty to fight England's battles for her. We must put the interests of Ireland first in the coming years and in the negotiation process. Second, we must speak for our citizens in Northern Ireland and in Britain. There are millions of them and only we can speak up for them. Third, we must work with the Northern Ireland Executive, as we have done for the past two decades, on areas of common interest such as cross-Border trade, travel, health, infrastructure, agriculture and social protection. We do not need a Border poll which, at present, would be unsuccessful and would not bring about Irish unity. Instead, it would bring about renewed division in Northern Ireland, which is the last thing we need now. We must build a unity of interest with the North, and with Unionists and Nationalists and Protestants and Catholic alike.

The European project was born out of war. It brought peace on our Continent after decades of war and violence. When communism collapsed and the Iron Curtain fell it ensured that eastern Europe became democratic and free and it was able to reunite not just Germany but also all of Europe. However, the memory of this has faded and populations across Europe in many ways do not love or respect the European project as they once did. We now have a duty to try to rebuild public confidence in, and support for, the European project and the European ideal.

Some people in recent days tried to denigrate and dismiss the people in Britain who voted to leave, as though they were somehow less educated, stupid, racist or had not really considered the matters before them. That might be true for some, but I do not believe it is true for all of them. There are genuine issues and people have genuine concerns about a lack of democracy in Europe, a loss of sovereignty and the effects of the Single Market, free trade and globalisation on people's living standards and conditions. We should not dismiss such things, and we should not be so complacent as to think that referendums in other European countries might not produce similar results. For that reason those of us who believe in, and are passionate about, Europe have a duty to try to reconnect with the European project and the European ideal and to make the case once again for Europe, for how it is for our benefit and for the benefits of European citizenship.

Some commentators in recent days have said that the UK referendum result marks the end of the European project. While I understand the disappointment that the result engenders and why this feeling arises, it need not be the case. As always, the future is in our hands. It is our duty now to translate confusion to clarity and out of chaos find opportunity. The European project and the European ideal, and Ireland's place at the heart of it, are worth fighting for. We should all be willing to fight for them in the years ahead.

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