Irish ‘Brexit’ concerns not impacting on debate- Humphrys

Irish concerns over a possible "Brexit" have not had a big impact on the debate in Britain, according to veteran BBC journalist John Humphrys.

Speaking ahead of a visit to Dublin tomorrow, Mr Humphrys, a presenter on Radio 4’s Today programme and the host of the television quiz show Mastermind, said efforts by the Irish community to play a part in the campaign had failed to make a difference.

“The issues that have dominated the debate have continued to be the same with immigration, sovereignty, the economy and security the main talking points. I can’t say I’ve heard much about efforts by the Irish Diaspora to influence the debate,” he said.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan recently urged Irish people living in Britain to join the campaign to keep the United Kingdom in the European Union. Over 400,000 people living in Britain were born here and Irish citizens of voting age who are resident there are entitled to vote in the forthcoming referendum.

In March, Irish4Europe, a business group that is seeking to mobilise Irish voters in favour of Britain staying in the EU, launched in London. The launch coincided with growing concern over the impact a Brexit might have on the Irish economy.

Mr Humphrys, who will be in Dublin on Thursday to moderate at the Asset Based Finance Association annual conference, said many in Britain were surprised at how personal the Brexit debate had become.

“Maybe we shouldn’t have expected anything different as it is something that people feel incredibly passionate about,” he said.

Mr Humphrys also said he was astounded to see how quickly Ireland had bounced back from the economic downturn.

“The recovery is quite remarkable and is also a great relief. A lot of people here were very worried about what started to happen in Ireland and there was great concern about it, but Ireland has done really well in turning things around,” he said.

“I personally have a very close connections with Greece as I have a son and grandchildren and a home there. One looks at what is happening there and in Ireland and it is obvious that it has done extraordinarily well to put the bad times behind it,” he said.