Seanad debates

Wednesday, 5 October 2016

UK Referendum on EU Membership: Statements

 

10:30 am

Photo of Frank FeighanFrank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not want to go over the ground covered by other speakers. I absolutely agree with them.

I thank the Minister and the Government for the level of work that has been done in the past year. This is like a slow car crash effectively.

I was invited last March to the House of Commons to help launch the Champ, Irish for Europe, calling on the United Kingdom to remain in Europe. At this event, organised by politicians and civic society, I said that we have had a history of 27 referendums in 27 years. Sometimes when a question is put in a referendum, the people who are sovereign do not answer that question because they do not like the Government, but answer something else. Unfortunately I think this is what has happened. The referendum was about emigration, xenophobia and many other things. The people have voted.

Two weeks ago I attended a committee meeting of the British-Irish Council in Liverpool for a hearing on Brexit. I urge anybody to look up Michael Dougan, who is professor of European law in Liverpool University. What he has said is absolutely stark. In regard to trade agreements and access, he states there are things that the EU cannot do effectively because it could take 30 or 40 years. I am very worried that the United Kingdom is sleepwalking its way along.

Yesterday, I attended a breakfast meeting on the EU in Birmingham. Arlene Foster, Kris Hopkins, the Under Secretary of State at the Northern Ireland office, Danny Kinahan, Ulster Unionist Party MP and Francie Molloy, Sinn Féin MP all spoke. It is quite obvious that Unionists are moving towards unionism and Nationalists are moving towards nationalism. I am very concerned that unless we look at different aspects of our role in Europe and different aspects of how we deal with the United Kingdom, we might lose our influence.The United Kingdom and Ireland have been great allies in Europe. It has worked vice versa. It has been like a big brother and we have been smaller but we have worked very closely together. We will miss the UK as an ally in the EU. There are 26 meetings every day with members from Irish and United Kingdom negotiating teams meeting. We will lose that and we need to look for different opportunities.

As I have said previously, we need to look at everything. We should have a debate on our role as working with members of the Commonwealth. It has the potential to further strengthen ties between our countries. The move could provide for greater collaboration, stronger diplomatic relations and greater co-operation between the two countries. We need to consider every action available to us to ensure we maintain the diplomatic and economic ties with our nearest neighbours and our largest market.

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