EU referendum: Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny warns Brexit poses a “major strategic risk”
The head of Ireland's government will issue a stark warning over Brexit this morning, saying that Britain leaving the European Union is an outcome that Ireland "does not wish to see materialise at all".
Speaking at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) annual conference in London, Irish Taoiseach Enda Kenny will say that Ireland "regards the prospect of the UK leaving the EU as a major strategic risk".
"Ireland’s commitment to the European Union is unqualified," Kenny will say, adding, "Clearly, the choice of whether to remain in the European Union, or to leave it, is for the British people alone to make."
"I fully accept and understand that the decision will not be made on the basis of its economic impact on other jurisdictions," Kenny will say. "But I think it is right – as your friend, closest neighbour and the only EU partner with whom Britain shares a land border – to share our perspective with you."
"The Irish government’s strong view, backed up by independent economic research published last week, is that a Brexit is not in Ireland’s economic interest."
Open Europe, a London-based think tank, said this week that if the UK were to leave the EU, Ireland could see a permanent loss to GDP of between 1.1 per cent and 3.1 per cent by 2030.