Sir, – When the Brexit negotiations begin next year it will be important that Ireland is not perceived as being, in Suzanne Lynch’s words, “too close to Britain” (“Brussels better prepared than London for Brexit talks”, November 24th). It is debatable whether the Government has readjusted its stance sufficiently in the five months since the referendum to create such a perception.
Much evidence points in the opposite direction. A press statement issued by the Taoiseach on October 12th, welcoming the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, referred to Mr Barnier’s “strong appreciation of our close historical, political and economic ties with the UK”.
Likewise, Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan has chosen to defend the Government’s proactive support for David Cameron in the run up to the referendum, rather than playing it down. In a speech to the British Irish Association in Oxford on September 10th he stated: “We passionately believed that a strong UK in a strong EU was the best possible outcome for Ireland, the UK and the EU”.
An article by Fiach Kelly (“Confidential memo reveals Irish view of UK Brexit ministers”, November 14th), describes a leaked Government memo on the subject of Brexit and refers to “the approach Ireland must take to building alliances to ensure that Britain maintains as close ties as possible to the EU”.
Even if this wording is not a verbatim quote from the memo, its implicit message is that Ireland’s close alignment with the UK should continue.
And such thinking is not confined to the Irish Government.
An article about the leak in the Guardian newspaper (November 14th) described Ireland as, "one of Britain's closest EU allies".
In the impending negotiations over Brexit, negotiations that will affect vital Irish interests including the peace process, the Border, trade barriers between Ireland and the UK, and the future development of the euro zone, the Government surely needs to clear its lines on two fronts.
As an urgent priority it needs to cultivate goodwill in the major EU institutions and among the other 26 member states so that sympathy for our interests is maximised on the EU side. Secondly, a working relationship with Theresa May’s government, based on respect for the will of the people as expressed in the referendum, needs to be forged.
In these challenging circumstances, it is past time for the mindset associated with the pre-Brexit alliance with Britain to be ditched, root and branch. – Yours, etc,
DAVE ALVEY,
Irish Political Review Group,
Bray,
Co Wicklow.