Michael Creed: Stress our ‘special situation’ in Brexit talks

Ireland must not allow itself to be “punished” for having a clear market need to continue selling products to Britain in a post-Brexit world.

Agriculture Minister Michael Creed said the Government must stress this need to other EU nations if our interests are to be protected, saying Ireland’s situation is “significantly different” to other states.

Speaking after an EU agriculture ministers meeting in Brussels, Belgium, just 48 hours after holding bilateral talks with British counterpart Andrea Leadsom, Mr Creed said Ireland has a “legitimate ask” in wanting to continue to trade easily with Britain.

Urging his Government counterparts not to “cut off our nose to spite our face”, he said a “practical solution” must be found to ensure Irish businesses are not adversely affected by London’s split with Brussels.

“I would hope that we would have a practical solution and that we are not into cutting off our nose to spite our face,” he said.

“Our situation is just different, significantly different, to any other EU country, and that’s something we don’t think we should be punished for.”

Mr Creed was speaking amid ongoing concerns over the impact of Brexit on our Ir ish economy, with concerns the split could see exports fall 40% and cost 20,000 jobs.

While Jobs Minister Mary Mitchell O Connor is due to publish a Brexit-related jobs plan next week after it is signed off by Cabinet today, it remains unclear how Government can protect Ireland from a Brexit backlash.

Meanwhile, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said the issues will be raised with British prime minister Theresa May when she travels to Dublin next week — days after she becomes the first foreign leader to meet US president Donald Trump.