Diplomats weigh in on Irish fears over Brexit
Key role for Foreign Affairs as UK rethinks EU role
DIPLOMATS from Dublin are already working behind the scenes to ensure Britain is aware of our concerns regarding the UK’s possible exit from the European Union.
Government sources have said our diplomats could ultimately play a key role as gobetweens when the EU and London begin talks over renegotiating the terms of the UK’s membership of the bloc.
David Cameron’s victory in the UK general election last week means a referendum on Britain’s exit – or ‘Brexit’ – from the EU will be put to voters in Britain and the North within the next two years.
This would have serious implications for Ireland as the UK is our most important trading partner and we are the only country which shares a land border with the UK.
Economists have estimated it could cost our export sector up to €4billion a year in lost export trade, while energy security may also at risk as we rely on the Scottish gas interconnector between our two countries.
Enda Kenny was one of the first international leaders to congratulate Mr Cameron following his victory last weekend.
A spokesman for the Government said last night that a meeting will be arranged ‘soon’.
‘The Taoiseach and the Prime Minister [Cameron] spoke by phone on Saturday and agreed to meet soon for bilateral talks,’ a spokesman said. ‘A date for this meeting will be agreed in due course,’ he added.
A Government source said the channels of communications at a lower level are already open and work has started as officials put forward our concerns over the implications for us of a Brexit.
The source said: ‘It may potentially be a long way away but we need to be in there from the start. Our diplomats have been watching this closely and I can assure they are on the ball and are working behind the scenes already.
‘We work well with British officials now, and we’re l i ked in Europe, so we could act as a sort of go-between too.’
Lorraine Higgins, Labour’s spokesman on foreign affairs in the Seanad, said Ireland needs to be particularly wary of a Brexit but she said she was confident our officials are working the diplomatic channels already.
The senator said: ‘While I respect the right of the British people to self-determination, we here in Ireland need to monitor the situation closely. Ireland has a unique relationship with Britain.
‘They are our closest trade partners and we share the Northern Ireland border.
‘I believe that Ireland would fare particularly badly if Britain were to leave the EU given they are our strongest trading partners.
‘Given the current landscape, Ireland needs to be considering how it could deal with a potential exodus and how best to reduce any fallout.
‘However, it must be remembered that we do have one of the most respected diplomatic corps in the world and they are already working behind the scenes to ensure that we are at the table from the start.’
In last Thursday’s general election in Britain and the North, the Conservative Party won 331 of the 650 seats in Westminster, giving David Cameron’s party a majority of 12 seats over all the Opposition parties in the Commons.
Labour and the Liberal Democrats suffered devastating losses, returning 232 and 8 MPs, and losing 26 and 49 seats respectively.
The Scottish Nationalist Party won 56 of Scotland’s 59 seats, up from just six in the last parliament following the failed independence referendum last year.
Last week’s general election result – unforeseen by the pollsters who had predicted a hung parliament – means Prime Minister Cameron will not need the support of any other small groups such as the Democratic Unionist Party or Ulster Unionist Party.
The DUP won eight seats after losing one and gaining another.
It is believed Mr Cameron may reach out to DUP leader Peter Robinson for his formal support in the future, given the Conservatives’ slim majority.
‘Working behind the scenes’