Flanagan: Ireland 'dismayed' at prospect of UK exit from EU

Ireland has weighed into the heated row over Britain’s future in Europe, warning that any exit from the EU would pull the two neighbouring countries apart just as they are forging historically close links.

Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan said Ireland is dismayed at the prospect of the UK going it alone and could not simply sit by as debate intensifies ahead of a proposed make-or-break referendum on membership in 2017.