Published on Wednesday25thMay2016

Minister Kehoe engages on EU referendum in Birmingham

20160525KehoeBirmingham

Minister Kehoe at the British Irish Chamber of Commerce, Birmingham

Minister of State Paul Kehoe is visiting Birmingham to engage with business leaders and the Irish community ahead of the EU referendum vote on the 23rd June. Irish Ministers are reaching out to Irish citizens living and working in the UK who are eligible to vote and encouraging them to exercise that right.

Minister Kehoe is highlighting Irish interests in the EU referendum:

As the UK’s closest neighbour, Ireland has a unique perspective and interest in the outcome of the referendum. The Irish Government fully respects that, first and foremost, this is a decision for UK voters to make on 23 June but the Irish Government want the UK, as its closest neighbour and partner, to remain a member of a reformed EU.

Minister Kehoe emphasised that the importance and scale of the two way trade between the UK and Ireland, which stands at around €1.2bn per week, is illustrative of the importance of the upcoming referendum to the very close ties between the Irish and UK economies.

We are convinced that no alternative arrangement will be better than the one we currently have: a single market and seamless flows of goods, services, capital and people. This trade sustains approximately 200,000 jobs on each side of the Irish Sea including 2,000 in this region of the UK.