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THE IRISH GOVERNMENT has put contingency plans in place after the shock Brexit result saw Britain voting to leave the European Union.
In a statement, the government said its contingency framework identifies key policy issues that need to be managed by government departments in the aftermath of the referendum vote.
The Taoiseach reiterated that Ireland is to stay in the EU, and said:
It is important to be clear: the UK has not actually left the EU. Until it formally withdraws from the Union, the UK remains a full member, with all of its existing rights and obligations.
He noted that businesses can continue to trade as normal and people can continue to travel as normal between Ireland and the UK, including Northern Ireland.
In a statement, the Taoiseach said that he is “very sorry” about the Brexit result, but he respects the British people’s decision.
Kenny also wished Cameron well for the future, and reiterated that Ireland’s strong and close relationship with the UK will remain.
Preparation for Brexit
Kenny set out to reassure people in Ireland that the government had prepared for a possible Brexit.
I want to assure the Irish public that we have prepared to the greatest extent possible for this eventuality.
There will be no immediate change to the free flow of people, goods and services between our islands.
The main concerns for Ireland in the case of a Brexit relate to potential impacts for trade and the economy, for Northern Ireland, for the common travel area and for the European Union.
The government undertook detailed contingency planning in order to “to protect and advance this country’s interests”.
Kenny will brief leaders of the opposition on the plans later.
Ireland is a strong, open and competitive economy – our ongoing economic recovery is testament to our resilience.
We will continue to implement policies that prioritise economic stability, growth and job creation.
He said that the Minister for Finance and his officials are in close contact with the Central Bank, the NTMA and international partners “to ensure that any short-term market volatility is carefully managed”.
The pound sterling dropped more than 11.5% (17 cent) since voting closed at 10pm, which is a 31-year low for the currency.
Northern Ireland
Sinn Féin have called for a border poll on Northern Ireland in the wake of the result.
On the topic of the north, the Taoiseach said that the implications of Brexit for Northern Ireland and for relations between North and South “will require careful consideration”.
We will approach these issues in the same spirit of partnership that has underpinned the peace process and has transformed relationships on this island since the Good Friday Agreement.
He is set to meet with colleagues from the Northern Ireland Executive on Monday week at the North/South Ministerial Council for discussions on Brexit.
One other area of concern is the Common Travel Area between Britain and Ireland, and the Taoiseach said the government will do its best to minimise any possible disruptions to this.
Irish people in Britain
Enda Kenny said that the government is also “acutely aware of the concerns which will be felt across the Irish community in Britain”, and assured people that it will also think of their during negotiations.
As for the impact of Brexit on Ireland and its relationship with the European Union, the Taoiseach was clear:
Ireland will, of course, remain a member of the European Union. That is profoundly in our national interest.
After more than 40 years of membership, we have built up strong bonds of partnership with all the other member states, and with the European institutions, that will continue to serve us well. We must now begin a period of reflection and debate on how we can renew the Union of 27 and equip it for the challenges ahead.
The European Council is set to meet next week.
Contingency plan
Kenny said that the contingency framework – which is coordinated by his department – will be an iterative process during the Brexit negotiations.
The framework will enable the government departments to minimise potential risks likely to arise, he said.
Priority issues in the framework will include UK-EU negotiations, British-Irish relations, Northern Ireland, trade, investment, North-South border impacts, competitiveness and macroeconomic issues, research/innovation funding and energy.
“It is important to recall that Ireland – as a committed Member State of the EU – will work within the EU context,” said the Taoiseach’s statement.
At the same time, Ireland has unique bilateral interests with the UK, including with regard to Northern Ireland, and the government will also have to work bilaterally in close contact with the UK Government and the devolved administration in Northern Ireland.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Charlie Flanagan said the Brexit outcome “is certainly not the result which I or the Government had hoped for”, but reassured the government has “very much been prepared for both possible outcomes”.
He has been in touch with Irish Ambassadors from key EU capitals to travel to Dublin to discuss next steps.
Flanagan said that the government also want to keep engaging with the Irish community in the UK, as well as stakeholders such as Irish employers’ representatives and businesses.
The Department of Finance said that it has been actively preparing for a Brexit, working closely with the Central Bank and the NTMA “to ensure financial and economic stability can be maintained”.
It said that the economic and fiscal policies implemented over recent years “have placed the State in a stronger position to weather any prolonged economic shock that may be caused by this result”.
Minister for Finance Michael Noonan TD said that he will be working to ensure that “we will seek to support the continuation of the important and mutually beneficial economic ties that exist between the UK and Ireland”.
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Sounds more like censorship & who would decide what’s ” Fake news” . I haven’t heard many people complaining about the way we vote so maybe just leave things the way they are!
@Colette Kearns: Sometimes we have short memories in Ireland.
There have been ongoing issues with the manual electoral process we have for years – one major contentious point is the payment of those in counting centres which seems to go to the same people in every election and the process of how people are selected is always controversial, not to mention how slow some counting centres are.
In 2002 we tried to bring in electronic voting for the Nice treaty, trialed in Dublin, was an expensive disaster and was never rolled out out, we still have a load of the machines in warehouses in Dublin.
Ireland has needed to modernise the electoral process for years, e-voting, at minimum needs to be effectively brought in so a commission to plan it should be welcomed
@Colette Kearns:
Yeah because who’s to say if Kevin Sorbo’s claims that the Trump rioters were all Antifa insider’s is really true… Some things are plainly untrue and fake news. Reports based entirely on conjecture and speculation, or claims which are demonstrably untrue, are not news.
Convincing people that the line between real and fake news is somehow unclear, or that legitimate political expression is somehow endangered by attempts to control it, is one of Trump’s biggest accomplishments, and likely to be his most enduring “legacy”.
@Gerard: Can you prove that there were absolutely no Antifa members at the Capitol Hill riots? It works both ways, I’m sure when he made that claim about Antifa members you asked if he had proof, well what about you. Can you prove your theory?
I’m not saying I agree or disagree, just playing devils advocate, we should apply standards equally, not on a sliding scale based on how well they for in to someone’s view and provide confirmation bias for a certain opinion
@Gerard: It’s not just about whether information is true or false. For me, it’s also about what is not reported. This is a big issue in Ireland, RTE and Irish MSM are notorious for not reporting issues or resorting to a particular narratives.
Those of us who grew up with the Troubles as the background score to our lives are now finding out what really went on in NI. It’s what was omitted that’s the real issue.
Don’t start me on the Catholic Church and state institutions and the abuse of women and children, all of which went unreported for decades. As did the unreported crimes of cronyism, corruption and lack of accountability of our state institutions, judiciary and politicians.
If Michael Martin thinks the public would support MSM by a tax, he’s mistaken because many of us see MSM as the problem
Allegations of fake news is just a cop out as we have been living with fake news/official narratives for decades and anything put forward to challenge this will be even more destructive.
@Simon Carroll: the default case is that something is untrue and must be proven to be true. Which a couple of blurry photos of tattoos of one do not do.
The fact that there were Trump supporters there is undeniable and there is ample evidence of it. Trump even accepts this as fact in his praise of the rioters. Anything else is conjecture and wishful thinking.
It actually doesn’t work both ways. The presumption is false until proven true.
I recommend watching John Oliver’s segment about voting machines in America (from his ‘Last Week Tonight’ HBO show): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svEuG_ekNT0
As for Fianna Fail’s voting machines, while I cannot prove anything and I do not actually know for a fact, I cannot shake the suspicion that this was another of FF’s attempts to manipulate elections, after their attempts to redraw constituencies (TWICE) to ensure they would always gain the majority of elected TD’s were roundly rejected.
@David A. Murray: Yet when American Republicans put forward such points about e-voting they are deemed crackpots?
@David A. Murray: so you’ve no evidence of anything.
@Cosmos20202020: That was what I said. I suspect based on previous attempts by FF. I said I have no evidence. I’ll go further. I have never heard of anyone who claimed to have evidence. It was my opinion.
@Thomas O’ Donnell: You might want to check up (even a little) on which states have bad records for voter suppression and flawed use of voting methods. The cross-reference with the periods of time and which party the Governor and Election Officials were in office. Not always, but usually (over the last 40 years) it’s been Republican more than Democrat. Also, Republican Election Officials have been targeted and fired for not towing Trump and his cohorts propaganda in 2020 about a ‘stolen election’.
@David A. Murray:
You’re talking absolute nonsense. After every census constituencies are redrawn to reflect changed population densities. You have no idea what you’re talking about and your conspiracy talk is laughable. Think you should move to the US you might find more of your bedfellows over there.
Quantum computing when developed a bit further will blow blockchain encryption apart. I don’t know what will happen then but I wouldn’t want out voting system to be in the middle of it. Paper voting works. We have no fraud. Waiting for the count is not a big deal.
And if you’d don’t t have a smart phone?
Good article Senator. The government’s proposed draft legislation for an electoral commission is already outdated because it is focused solely on reform of the electoral register. It is completely silent on issues like social media regulation, the use of online crowd funding to finance campaigns and even revised rules on postal voting. Our elections are key to ensuring public confidence in our democracy and failure to comprehensively reform the regulatory framework to take account of these issues is a risk we cannot afford to take.
A change is needed. The current system where a voter can be registered in multiple areas is “an open door” for manipulation! What other major system would remain unchanged for so long?
Wanna have hot-lovin’ conversations? You’re on the right way! – chatie.club/xxx
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