Britain was never fully in Europe, but WE need to show we are committed

TO say we are in uncharted waters, as Martin McGuinness said, is an understatement. Many people, including myself, were shocked yesterday morning on hearing the news of a Brexit vote.

Most pundits, bookies, and indeed some of those in favour of Britain leaving the EU felt that the Remain group would carry the day. Boy, did they get it wrong.

Indeed, even the normally surefooted Ryanair got it wrong. Before the votes were finally counted, early on Friday morning, Ryanair sent an email to people in the UK and Northern Ireland, stating that 1million seats were on sale for £9.99 to ‘celebrate remaining in Europe’.

Yesterday, everywhere I went, people were asking me what would happen now. To me, this is one of the ‘unknown unknown’ issues that can hit the political process, like a bolt out of the blue.

For us in the Republic, and also in the remainder of the EU, what is important is how we react to this. Our Government needs to be surefooted and needs to immediately reassure our people and the rest of the EU that we are committed to the European project.

As the country whose continued membership in the EU is most adversely affected by this decision, we must get the rest of the EU to take measures to soften the blow for us from a practical, social and economic point of view.

For that, we need to open up a special, dedicated channel to the EU institutions to acknowledge the special position that we hold vis-a-vis the UK. Equally, we must ensure that whoever takes over the leadership of the UK government in the coming months acknowledges that Ireland needs to be treated somewhat differently to how they interact with the remainder of the EU.

WE in the Republic must deepen our contact with the political, economic and social community in Northern Ireland, in order to ensure that the NorthSouth axis is maintained.

The Lisbon Treaty allows for this exit to happen, but the UK will now be overworked, arranging and rearranging hundreds of agreements and treaties with the EU.

I’ve no doubt, knowing the way the political system and bureaucratic system within the EU institution works, that, when the shock dissipates, the attitude to the UK will be, on the surface, cordial, but behind the encouraging words, there will be a resolve not to make this exit decision easy for the UK. In other words, their attitude will be that this decision cannot be without consequences.

The fact is that, over the years, it was always hard to find a truly committed EU supporter in the UK political system. There was always an underlying reluctance to embrace the European project in the same way as, say, the Germans or the French did. And time and time again, British politicians decried the fact that they were net contributors financially to the EU budget.

Before the Republic became net contributors, we had to put up with interminable jibes from British political figures that it was UK money that built our roads and infrastructure. To put it mildly, I always felt that they were begrudging members of the EU.

This decision will affect us in many ways, both known and unknown. From something as practical as roaming charges between North and South, to how ease of trade will be affected.

The passing of the Single European Act meant that, in the border areas, the customs posts disappeared overnight, making trade between North and South seamless. Gone were the constant queues on either side of the border. I can’t see these coming back, given this age of better technology, but the decision will entail more work for traders on either side of the border.

Already, I’ve heard people on this side of the border, saying that they will travel north to shop and buy petrol, given the drop in sterling. And while this might be attractive and possibly short-lived, it will adversely affect our traders on this side of the border, our people who work across the border and, indeed, Irish citizens living in the UK and Northern Ireland in receipt of certain social welfare payments.

There may be upsides for us. It may be that foreign direct investment from outside the EU, which would normally go to the UK, will come to the Republic.

EQUALLY, foreign pension funds and investors may move from London to Dublin, so as to be based within the European Union. All in all, while there will be some advantages, I believe they will be heavily outweighed by the disadvantages. These will affect our ordinary citizens in ways that we are not even aware of at present.

Already there are well-known right-wing figures across Europe using this vote for their own political purposes. There have been clarion calls from people from other member states to have similar exit referendums in their countries.

This is all driven, in my view, by dangerous, right-wing, racist political figures who are using the immigration crisis to dismantle the European project, which despite all its faults has kept the wider Europe peaceful for the longest period in its history. Those of us who remain in the EU must strongly rebuff their efforts.