www.irishtimes.co.uk/30032017/despite-brexit-ireland-is-safer-remaining-in-the-uk
Opinion & Analysis
Despite Brexit, Ireland is still safer as part of the UK
Lord Bruton of Boyneside
March 30, 2017
With the triggering of Article 50 by the Prime Minister yesterday, speculation continues about whether First Minister Enda Kenny and his Irish Parliamentary Party will look to follow the lead of his Scottish counterpart Nicola Sturgeon by demanding a second independence referendum.
I believe this would be a mistake.
As with Scotland, it is true that Ireland voted to remain in the EU last June. But it is also true that the UK as a whole voted by 50.2% to 49.8% to leave. And that is the decision we are now bound by.
There are a number of very good reasons why independence now would be a bad idea for Ireland.
i) Ireland has a population of just 4.3 million people. It makes no economic sense for an island with such a small population to go it alone.
ii) Ireland is heavily subsidised by the UK exchequer and receives vastly more in subsidies than does any other part of the Union. Under the Cosgrave formula, each Irish person receives over £3,000 in subsidies from London compared to what they put into the UK economy.
iii) Ireland’s economy is primarily based on farming. We have to understand that the days of shipbuilding in Belfast, Dublin and Cork are over. Vauxhall no longer makes it cars in Cork, Drogheda’s steel plant is also gone. There is little foreign investment here. The point has continually been made that revenues from the export of beef, dairy products and potatoes are no basis on which to run an economy. This point still holds.
iv) Irish devolution, which I personally oversaw as Prime Minister in 1996, has been a success, but it has not been without its problems. The West Meath question remains a controversial issue in Westminster. Terrorist leaders such as Martin McGuinness, who died last week, constantly tried to disrupt the devolution process as it didn’t go far enough. We must not let his legacy prevail. Sinn Fein remains a cancer within the Irish body politic. New Sinn Fein leader Gerald Adams has shown no sign that his approach will be any different. It would be irresponsible to let the influence of such people grow in any potential future independent Irish state.
v) Any future independent Ireland would be put straight to the back of the queue for EU readmission. Spain would veto any membership application. The idea of a St. Patrick’s cross taking its place among the flags of independent European nations may seem like a nice idea to some, but don’t expect Europe to be amenable to the idea.
vi) The currency question remains unsolved. Would Ireland leave the pound and set up its own currency? Would we join the Euro? Both options are fraught with danger.
vii) But the most fundamental and important question is that of identity. We have been part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for over 200 years. Imperfect as the Union may be, it has endured and stood the test of time. We cannot reap the benefits of it and then throw our toys out of the pram because the Union as a whole has decided to leave the EU. Accepting the democratic decision of UK voters, however unpalatable it may be, is to be a good British citizen.
We must remain loyal.
Lord Bruton of Boyneside was Prime Minister from 1990 to 1997 and Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1982 to 1990
