Government welcomes May’s speech on Brexit

Prime minister Theresa May’s speech outlining Britain’s approach to Brexit was officially welcomed by the Government, which said it brought “clarity”.

However, some Ministers and officials have privately warned the hard Brexit she promised will present significant difficulties for Ireland.

Mrs May said Britain intended to leave the EU single market, with the likely result that it will also leave the customs union.

Government sources stressed the importance of her decision to specifically highlight the British-Irish relationship and the importance of the preservation of the Common Travel Area between the two countries, which she numbered as one of her 12 priorities for the Brexit negotiations.

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A Government statement issued immediately after Mrs May's speech welcomed the "clarity" for which both Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan had called in recent weeks.

It also recognised that the two governments share the objective of securing a close and “friction-free” economic and trading relationship in the future.

The Taoiseach spoke to Mrs May on Tuesday and the two leaders are due to meet next week when she is expected to visit Dublin.

In the Dáil, the Taoiseach said he looked forward to the negotiations which will start once the British trigger the article 50 exit mechanism before the end of March.

“That is where the serious issues of the outcomes of the prime minister’s statement today will be dealt with in minute detail,” Mr Kenny said. “We will argue vociferously for our country.”

However, Fianna Fáil struck a more downbeat note. "The prime minister's tone may have been conciliatory, but the content of her speech was not," the party's foreign affairs spokesman Darragh O'Brien said.

Betraying the electorate

Elsewhere, Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams accused the DUP, which supported the Leave campaign, and its leader Arlene Foster "of betraying the electorate in the North". In the referendum, 56 per cent of people in Northern Ireland voted Remain.

“Instead of accepting that mandate, she chose to join with the little Englanders of UKIP and the Conservative Party,” said Mr Adams.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said "nowhere will be more damaged" by Brexit than Northern Ireland. "It is important that the full consequences of this are understood – no free trade and customs across the island means a hard Brexit in Ireland. It means a hard Border," he said.

The DUP East Antrim MP Sammy Wilson said the "doom and gloom" that surrounded Brexit has not come to pass. "It is important to continue upon building a prosperous and strong UK outside of the EU."

The Ulster Unionist Party economy spokesman Steve Aiken said it was "deeply concerning" that "there is no one expressing the unique needs" of Northern Ireland after the collapse of Stormont.

Alliance deputy leader Stephen Farry said Mrs May's proposals would be "catastrophic for Northern Ireland".