Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim mo bhuíochas leis an Leas-Cheann Comhairle fá choinne an tseans labhairt fá dtaobh den reifreann san Iodáil agus ráiteas gairid a dhéanamh air don Teach. I am pleased to have this opportunity to make a short statement to the House on the recent referendum in Italy. Italy is a leading member of the European Union. It is a founder member and the third largest economy in the eurozone. Italy and Ireland enjoy excellent relations, including a strong economic and trade relationship and this will continue. We have worked closely with outgoing Prime Minister Matteo Renzi over the past few years bilaterally and within the European Union and we wish him every success for the future.

The Italians went to the polls on Sunday, 4 December, to vote on proposals for constitutional reform, proposed by Mr. Renzi. By a majority of 59% to 41% the referendum was defeated. Mr. Renzi resigned but will remain on as Prime Minister at the request of President Mattarella until Italy's 2017 budget is approved by parliament. What happens then is a matter for the President who will have to decide whether to put a caretaker government in place or to call a general election. The Italian political system will inevitably need some time to take stock and agree a way forward.

Under the current system, there are two Chambers of Parliament with directly elected lawmakers, the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Both Chambers have equal power and must agree on legislation before it is passed. Under the reforms proposed by Mr Renzi, the Senate would have lost most of its powers. The number of Senators would have been reduced from 315 to 100 and the remaining Senators would no longer have been elected directly. Under the proposals, most laws could have been passed by the Chamber of Deputies - the lower house - alone. However, the upper house would have had to be consulted on major issues such as other constitutional reforms and the ratification of EU treaties.

I note positively that following the referendum result the euro remains broadly stable and there has been a relatively muted market reaction to the result. It is, of course, important that we continue to monitor events closely in the aftermath of this result. As the Minister for Finance stated yesterday, there are no contagion effects from the Italian banking system to the Irish banking system. It is important to note that this referendum was about internal constitutional reform in Italy and not about support for the European Union. In this sense, it is entirely different from the UK referendum in June. The only political parties which took an explicitly anti-EU line during the campaign, and after the results, have no more than 15% of the vote. The 59% of "No" voters will certainly have included people who are pro-European but just did not support the proposed constitutional reforms, such as the former Prime Minister and EU Commissioner, Mario Monti.

As the Taoiseach said yesterday, it is important to note that the parties opposed to the referendum, such as the Northern League, the Five Star movement and Forza Italia, did not agree with each other on a range of other issues. We are well aware in this country that referendums can have surprising results, often not fully connected to the stated objective of the vote. There is no doubt that in many western democracies there is a lack of faith in political and other institutions. This is not by any means confined to the EU, but it very much recognises the need to respond and this is the subject of ongoing debate at the highest levels. However, I agree with the Taoiseach’s remarks yesterday expressing confidence that the EU is big enough and strong enough to deal with the fallout from the referendum result.

Italy is a country of immense creativity and resilience and I have every confidence that its political leaders will deal with the current situation.

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