Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Yesterday the British Government announced it was going to dissolve parliament and hold an election next month. Although normally that would not attract a huge amount of our attention as we look on from a distance, the Conservative Party has stated it is its intention to hold a referendum on Britain leaving the European Union. That would have huge a impact on Ireland, not just on business, tourism and exports. It would probably mean passports would be required at the Border between Dundalk and Newry. I do not know if we have given any thought or attention to the implications of such a decision. While it would not happen immediately as the Conservatives would have to win the election and then the referendum, it is frightening to think about the implications for us from a business point of view and in terms of how we manage our own affairs.

It also arose during the week that we did not have the ability to identify jets that flew along the west coast because we did not have long-range radar capacity. I do not know if we need it and the cost would probably be huge, but there are reports that Russian aeroplanes have been coming into Irish territory in recent times. We want to make sure we have taken at least some precautions to ensure we are protected. Some years ago there was a candidate in the Danish elections. He was not elected, but he did very well by arguing that, instead of having a Danish army, the country should have a huge gramophone with a huge voice saying in Russian, "We surrender, we surrender, we surrender." That was one way to solve its problem. Iceland also decided that it did not need an army, that it was going to use the United States army. I am not suggesting any of these is an answer from our point of view, but let us make sure we have protected ourselves in whatever manner is the correct way to do it. This issue will become much more important if Britain decides to leave the European Union and we find ourselves on a little island isolated from the rest of Europe. I suggest to the Leader that we have a discussion on this issue in the near future.