Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his comment on continuing connections with small states which is very important. The Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade with responsibility for European Affairs, Deputy Dara Murphy, has on several occasions been to all member states, particularly the small member states because of the implications of Brexit. As Deputy Brendan Howlin is aware, most of the economic reports indicate that the countries most adversely affected would be Ireland, The Netherlands and Denmark. I have already had a meeting with Prime Minister Michel of Belgium and we want to keep these contacts alive. I wrote to President Macron following his election and said we would be most affected by a hard Brexit and that we would appreciate and count on France's continued support in addressing the unique challenges we faced. I made the point that Ireland and France had always had a very warm relationship. France is a big buyer of food, services and so on from Ireland and we want to maintain that position. I do not favour having a federal Europe. Given how near the European Union has been to collapse in the recent period, the electorates in The Netherlands and France and in Austria with the election of its President appear to be refocusing on Europe. I see the same happening in the latest results in Germany which is moving towards a pro-European party. The Germans will make their choice in federal elections in September and I expect the Chancellor, Dr. Merkel, to be returned again. Given that there will more than likely be a very strong alliance between Germany and France and, as Deputy Brendan Howlin is aware, that the real reason for setting up the European Economic Community was to prevent the historic difficulties between France and Germany, it is important from the European Union point of view that there be strong countries which work with small countries for everybody's benefit.

See this speech in context