Kenny says stability would be the best outcome from Brexit

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said the best outcome to the Brexit negotiations would be one "as close as possible to the current status quo".

Commenting on the possibility of British prime minister Theresa May triggering the article 50 mechanism to allow Britain leave the EU, Mr Kenny said the implications would be profound.

He said a situation similar to the one at the moment was his preference. "If the United Kingdom has access to the single market it must agree to free movement of people which is one of the four fundamental principles of the EU," he said.

Mr Kenny was speaking during a visit to the National Ploughing Championships near Tullamore, Co Offaly, yesterday. “This is a period of uncertainty,” he said. “These are times that also present opportunities. Whenever the prime minister moves on it, the implications are profound. From an Irish point of view, both North and South, we are at a critical juncture here.

Trade history

“With the UK we have had centuries of trade across the Irish sea. We are a country that will continue to be an EU state.

Ireland

is in a different position from any other EU state.” He said people had voted in 1998 for the Belfast Agreement and did so on the basis of freedom of movement in these islands.

Mr Kenny said it was likely Ms May would formally begin the process of exiting the EU in January or February.

The Taoiseach said such indications the process would begin “probably” at the end of January or early February had come from David Davis, the UK secretary of state for Brexit, and from Northern Secretary James Brokenshire. Mr Davis and Mr Brokenshire have met members of the Government recently.

The Taoiseach said the budget will be “Brexit-proofed” and Minister for Finance Michael Noonan will travel to London tomorrow to meet chancellor of the exchequer Philip Hammond.

Farming challenges

On the difficulties facing the agriculture sector, he accepted it had not been a “great year”: “Farmers are the first to understand the cyclical nature of farming.”

He said his Ministers and officials had engaged with “great diligence” with the EU institutions.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said this had been a very difficult period for farmers, particularly in dairy, grain and horticulture. He said his party had a Bill to establish a food ombudsman and said taxation needed to be reformed to reflect the cyclical nature of farming. He said the State should match the €11 million in urgent EU funding to the sector.