Former European Parliament president Pat Cox said MEPs will meet next week in an emergency session at which they will “stress their democratic mandate to have a say” in how the UK negotiates its exit from the EU.
Speaking to The Irish Times Inside Politics podcast, Pat Cox called for Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil to present a united front in the forthcoming negotiations.
“This is one area where Taoiseach and leader of main Opposition party should go lockstep, hand in hand about constructing an Irish consensus that is durable inside Irish politics, in order at least to not have that hand tied behind your back as you head off into these unchartered territories,” said Mr Cox.
Mr Cox said the UK’s decision was the first regression of the idea of European integration since 1950 and said it would “hugely energise” eurosceptic politicians in other EU countries such as France and the Netherlands.
Jeffrey Donaldson, DUP MP told RTÉ's Today with Sean O'Rourke Show the North of Ireland was in for a 'bumpy few months' but that in the long term the referendum result to leave the EU would be good for Northern Ireland.
“I don’t see the doom and gloom. I see lots of opportunities.”
He said Northern Ireland would still be able to do business in the EU and that American companies based there will be able to operate “the same as companies in Philadelphia”.
Mr Donaldson said Northern Ireland will have many selling points.
“Let’s see what the nature of the trading relationship between the UK and the EU will be.
“We had investors from the USA before we joined the EU and we will have some after the EU. We will not fall for the scare mongering.
“Because we will no longer be restricted by EU regulations we can now do our own trade deals with India and China.”
With regard to relations between the Republic and the North he said: “I think we can come up with sensible travel arrangements. We can make it work. We will continue to be strong trading partners with the Republic.”
As for the Peace Process: “It will be business as usual. We will want strong co-operation. We will work out any new arrangements.”
Martin McGuinness says the case for a Border poll have been strengthened by the Brexit vote, saying “we are now in uncharted waters.”
He said the UK now has no democratic mandate to represent the view of the people in Northern Ireland in the EU.
“The vote had nothing to do with what is best for the people of the north and has implications for all of us.”
Mr McGuinness said it was a very serious situation for the North, especially in relation to economic development.
Earlier Sinn Féin’s national chairman Declan Kearney said the question of Northern Ireland remaining as part of the UK had now been brought into sharp focus.
“We have a situation where the north is going to be dragged out on the tails of a vote in England,” he said.
“That is a huge democratic deficit for our society, building on the existing democratic deficit of partition.
“The British Government has now forfeited its mandate to represent the north of Ireland in relation to the European Union.
“Brexit has become a further cost of partition, a further cost of the Union and Sinn Féin will now press our demand, our long standing demand, for a border poll.”