Ireland should consider exiting the EU – former Irish ambassador

Bassett, who was previously Ireland’s ambassador to Canada and a member of the Irish negotiating team for the Good Friday Agreement, argued that “the benefits of EU membership for Ireland in the past have been overwhelming but the organisation that Ireland joined and where it once thrived, is disappearing.”

He warns that as European financial regulation becomes tighter, Ireland may lose its low corporation tax advantage. “It may be much more advantageous to seek a path that allows it to maintain the countries’ freedom to set its own tax rates, to decide on its own domestic policies while at the same time keeping close to EU norms in areas such as environmental protection, food standards etc. The case for an Irexit is growing stronger.”

Bassett stopped short of recommending exiting the EU as the overall best solution for Ireland. However, in a paper published this Monday by the British think-tank Policy Exchange he wrote that this should be considered if the new relationship between the EU and the UK after Brexit is detrimental to Irish interests.

In that case, Ireland should favour its ties with the UK over those with the EU, the diplomat argued.

His report cited agri food trade among the major factors in favour of Irexit: “In a hard Brexit environment, import duties on agricultural products under simple World Trade Organisation rules could be up to 50% and would essentially end the centuries-old trade between Ireland and Britain in food.”

IFA reference

He quoted IFA president Joe Healy on Ireland’s reliance on the UK for food exports, including the comment that it would be “almost impossible” to find alternative markets offering similar returns for farmers.

“This will simply be impossible in areas like cheddar cheese, an essentially Irish/British food and there is little or no demand for exports elsewhere,” Bassett wrote.

Direct talks

Bassett argued that Ireland should enter direct talks with the UK to guarantee the future free movement of people, goods and services across the border with Northern Ireland and the Irish sea.

His remarks were published by the Policy Exchange, a British think-tank with links to right-of-centre speakers and media.

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