Euroscepticism in the Republic of Ireland
Euroscepticism is a minority view in the Republic of Ireland, with opinion polls in 2016 indicating around 80% support for continued membership of the European Union (EU). Eurosceptic parties with members elected to office include those in the Solidarity–People Before Profit political alliance and Sinn Féin.[1][2][3]
Some eurosceptics support an Irish withdrawal from the EU. This hypothetical concept is sometimes referred to as Eirexit or Irexit, based on Brexit, the popular term for the British withdrawal from the European Union.[4][5][6]
Background and opinion
Ireland acceded to the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973 following a referendum with a near record turnout of 71% and a five-to-one vote (83.1%) in favour of joining.[7]
A Red C poll, commissioned by European Movement Ireland in January 2013, found most Irish people would opt for Ireland to remain inside the EU (66%) even if the UK decided to leave. Just 29% of those asked said that Ireland should leave if the UK does.[8]
In a 2015 opinion poll, commissioned by European Movement Ireland, 84% said they "believe that Ireland has, on balance, benefited from membership" and 77% said Ireland should remain in the EU even if the UK leaves, while only 33% agreed that there should be an EU army.[9]
Following the Brexit referendum, a poll commissioned by public relations firm PR360 found that 77% of those polled believed EU membership was good thing. It also found that, if a referendum on EU membership were held in Ireland, 80% would vote remain, 13% vote leave, with 7% undecided.[10]
Another poll conducted by Ipsos after the Brexit referendum found that 81% thought the UK had made the wrong decision to leave, 12% thought the UK was right to leave and 7% said they didn't know.[11]
A poll conducted by Red C in January 2017 found that 70% are in favor of EU membership while 28% said they would vote for an 'Irexit' if there was a "hard border" with Northern Ireland. [12]
Developments
The 2000s saw the birth of a number of small organisations with eurosceptic positions, including Éirígí, Saoradh, Identity Ireland, Libertas Ireland, Cóir and the National Party.[citation needed] Some of these (like Identity Ireland, 115 members) report a very small base of members,[13] while others (like Cóir) were limited-lifespan lobby groups involved in the Lisbon Treaty campaign and whose campaign included references to Ireland's independence struggle.[14][15] These positions reflected similar statements by Eamon De Valera, who, approximately two decades before Ireland joined the EEC, stated an opposition to the formation of a European parliament and European federalism, noting that Ireland "did not strive to get out of that British domination [...] to get into a worse [position]".[16]
The 2014 European Parliament election saw some support for candidates with eurosceptic connections, with 4 of the available 11 seats going to members of the "soft eurosceptic"[17] GUE-NGL grouping and 1 seat to a Fianna Fáil candidate who later joined the European Conservatives and Reformists group.[18] However, the latter has failed to attend any votes in the European Parliament.[19]
This followed a number of events, including changes in the post-2008 Irish economic outlook, and the Lisbon Treaty vote, which some commentators linked with a 'scepticism' of some aspects of the union.[20]
Lisbon and Nice referendums
In Ireland, ratification of significant amendments to the Treaties of the European Union require an amendment to the Constitution,[21] and hence a referendum vote. In the 2000s, there were referendums on the ratification the Treaty of Nice and the Treaty of Lisbon. In each case, a first referendum failed to pass but, following renegotiation and the debunking of certain claims made during campaigning,[22][23] a second one was successful (with around two-thirds majority in favour in both cases).
The calling of second referendums drew criticism from some quarters. People Before Profit for example, had opposed the Lisbon treaty saying "Enshrined in this Treaty are the failed neo-liberal policies which have caused the recent economic crisis. This is a Treaty for big business".[24]
Troika and the Euro
Following the post-2008 Irish economic downturn, some commentators noted that the response by the European troika to economic developments might lead to some changes in the "political landscape" and changes in perception of institutions like the European Commission and European Central Bank.[25][26] Other economic commentators, like David McWilliams, argued that membership of the eurozone is bad for the Irish Economy,[27] As of 2015 however, perceptions of EU membership as a whole remained favourable.[9]
Brexit
Anticipation of the effect of Brexit on the Irish economy led to some speculation about a possible 'Irexit' both before and after the British referendum.[28][29][30] Cliff Taylor of the Irish Times said that the question arose because Ireland's participation in the single market is "vital" to the economy, and that Ireland's interactions with British economy were similarly "vital", leaving the economy of Ireland in a potentially awkward position.[5] The Economist indicated that Brexit would have a dramatic, negative impact on the Irish economy.[31] By November 2016, Harry McGee of The Irish Times reported that "a small but growing band of public figures [were] questioning the basis of Irish EU membership",[32] identifying the Socialist Workers Party and Socialist Party as groups that would support an exit.[32] After the Brexit vote however, polls indicated that 80% of those asked would not support a similar Irish exit.[10]
Apple tax ruling
In August 2016 the European Commissioner for Competition ruled that Ireland's taxation treatment of Apple Inc. amounted to inappropriate state aid and ordered the company to pay Ireland €13 billion in back taxes.[33][34][35] Ireland's Department of Finance rejected the ruling, suggesting that the Commission were "interfering with national tax sovereignty" and that it had "exceeded its powers".[36][37][37] Apple said the decision was "an effort to rewrite Apple's history in Europe, ignore Ireland's tax laws, and upend the international tax system in the process."[38] The previous holder of the Competition portfolio, Neelie Kroes, said that state-aid rules should not apply to tax matters: "EU member states have a sovereign right to determine their own tax laws."[39] In December 2016, the Irish Government announced its intention to appeal the ruling.[40] Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary suggested that Ireland should "threaten to leave the EU" over the issue.[41]
See also
References
- ^ "Euroscepticism without politicisation: the case of Ireland during the financial crisis". ucc.ie.
- ^ "LEXIT: WHY WE NEED A LEFT EXIT FROM EU". peoplebeforeprofit.ie.
- ^ "Paul Murphy calls for Brexit despite 'racist' opinions of Leave campaigners". newstalk.com.
- ^ "Are we heading for an "Irexit"? German business leaders haven't ruled it out..." newstalk.com.
- ^ a b Cliff Taylor. "Who fears to speak of Irexit?". The Irish Times.
- ^ "Eurosceptics are salivating at the idea of 'Irexit' after Apple's shock €13 billion EU-Ireland tax bill". Business Insider.
- ^ "Turnouts fail to match 1972 figure". Irish Times. 8 June 2001.
The 71 per cent turnout in the May 1972 poll was the biggest for a referendum since the vote on the Constitution itself in 1937. The Yes vote was even more impressive [.. with ..] a crushing five-to-one defeat for the No campaign
- ^ "European Movement: Two-thirds of Irish People Would Choose to Stay in the EU Even if the UK Leaves". Europeanmovement.eu. 18 January 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
- ^ a b "Almost 80% say Ireland should stay in the EU, even if UK leaves". NewsTalk. 29 May 2015.
According to the poll, 84% of adults here also believe that Ireland has, on balance, benefited from membership. [..] These figures are higher than those in a similar poll carried out in 2013
- ^ a b "Over 60% of people say the EU is more important to Ireland than the UK". newstalk.com. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
- ^ "Four out of five Irish voters say UK was wrong to leave EU". The Irish Times.
- ^ "Strong majority want a Minister for Brexit, according to poll".
- ^ "Identity Ireland sees 25% increase in membership since yesterday". newstalk.com.
- ^ "Lisbon outtakes". Irish Times. 28 September 2009. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
Cóir campaigners were also out in force outside the GPO [..with banners reading..] "People died for our freedom, vote No"
- ^ "Irish referendum battle deadlocked". Politico.eu. Retrieved 20 February 2017.
- ^ "History warns us about the risks of ceding power to EU". independent.ie.
- ^ "Groups in the European Parliament". BBC News.
- ^ "Fianna Fáil says Brian Cowley's move to Eurosceptic group is 'unacceptable'". The Journal. 23 June 2014.
- ^ "Only one person in the EU Parliament has a worse voting record than Nigel Farage". Daily Mirror. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
- ^ "'Bye Bye EU' - The other countries who could be looking to leave the EU after 'Brexit'". Newstalk. 24 June 2016.
- ^ Raymond Crotty v An Taoiseach and Others [1987] IESC 4 (9 April 1987)
- ^ "FF 'out to nail Cóir lie' over wages". Irish Examiner. 16 September 2009.
- ^ "IBEC: Minimum wage posters rotten to the 'Coir'". Breakingnews.ie. 18 September 2009. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
IBEC is calling on Coir to remove the posters following an interview by Coir spokesman Brian Hickey [..] in which he said that the Lisbon Treaty would "have no effect" on the Irish minimum wage
- ^ "Lisbon Treaty is unchanged and must be rejected". peoplebeforeprofit.ie.
- ^ "EU 'Troika' rule in Ireland worse than British Empire". Telegraph.co.uk. 28 February 2013.
- ^ "Nigel Farage hopeful of Irish 'Eurosceptic' MEPs". RTE. 1 March 2014.
- ^ "Auf Wiedersehen? Never". David Mcwilliams. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
- ^ "A terrible problem is born". The Economist. 26 March 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ "'We should leave EU on same day as British' - Gay Byrne backs Irish EU exit if Brexit happens". Irish Independent. 18 October 2016.
- ^ ""Won't be long" before calls to leave EU says John Halligan". Irish Examiner. 6 January 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2017.
- ^ "Ireland may suffer the most from Brexit". The Economist. 29 October 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ a b McGee, Harry (12 November 2016). "Eirexit: Could Ireland follow Britain out of the EU?". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
- ^ "European Commission - PRESS RELEASES - Press release - State aid: Ireland gave illegal tax benefits to Apple worth up to €13 billion". europa.eu. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
- ^ Ryall, Jenni. "A deep dive into Apple's 'sweetheart deal' with Ireland". Mashable.
- ^ Bowers, Simon (30 August 2016). "The Apple tax ruling – what this means for Ireland, tax and multinationals". The Guardian.
- ^ Mullen, Jethro (19 December 2016). "Apple and Ireland go on offensive against EU's $14B tax bill". CNNMoney.
- ^ a b Ryan, Órla. "Noonan claims Apple ruling an "attack" on Ireland's corporate tax regime". TheJournal.ie.
- ^ "Tim Cook accuses European Commission of 'rewriting Apple's history'". Newstalk. 30 August 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
- ^ Apple tax ruling is unfair, says former European commissioner – The Guardian, 1 September 2016
- ^ Ireland to fight EU order to collect €13bn in back taxes from Apple – The Guardian, 19 December 2016
- ^ "Michael O'Leary: Ireland should threaten to leave EU over Apple tax". Independent News & Media. 14 September 2016.
