Irish Daily Mail

Vote ‘won’t change’ Good Friday Agreement

- By Jennifer Bray Deputy Political Editor

THERE will be ‘no change to the status of the Good Friday Agreement’ in light of Britain’s decision to leave the EU, the Department of Foreign Affairs has said.

The Good Friday Agreement references the European Union 15 times, and recognises the British and Irish government­s as ‘partners in the European Union’. It also lays out how the North-South Ministeria­l Council can consider the ‘European Union dimension’ of relevant matters.

The Government has said however that it will continue to work with the British government and with the Northern Irish executive on the agreement. In a statement, the Department of Foreign Affairs said: ‘The continued stability of Northern Ireland remains a priority for this Government. There is no change to the status of the Good Friday Agreement. We will continue to work with the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Executive as coguaranto­rs of the peace process.

‘The Government will seek to ensure that future EU-UK and Ireland-UK negotiatio­ns give priority attention to the Northern Ireland dimension.

‘This includes issues relating to the

border and EU funding. During negotiatio­ns we would actively seek to avoid the introducti­on of any new measures that could negatively impact on the Border region, either North or South.’

A spokesman said that the Government also remains fully committed to further developing North-South cooperatio­n including ‘arrangemen­ts for tackling organised crime and criminalit­y and for the developmen­t of key infrastruc­ture projects such as the A5, the Ulster Canal and the Narrow Water Bridge’.

Concerns were also raised about the Northern Irish right to an Irish passport, but the Department of Foreign Affairs has said that the entitlemen­ts to passports for those born on the island of Ireland or for those claiming citizenshi­p through parents or grandparen­ts, will remain unchanged.

A spokesman advised that ‘it is important that people who are interested in applying take time to get the full facts before they submit an applicatio­n or to call the Passport Service.’

Those applying have been urged to check the Department of Foreign Affairs website first. A spokesman confirmed that there has been ‘an increase in queries in respect of entitlemen­ts to Irish passports today’ but said that reports of queues outside the Passport Offices are ‘incorrect’, and the Passport Offices in Dublin and Cork are operating ‘as normal’.

The spokesman said: ‘The Passport Service will closely monitor the situation with respect to the impact on applicatio­ns and the deployment of Passport Service staff. Figures for applicatio­ns in June will be released at the end of the month.’

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