The possibility of Irish unity must be considered in Britain’s negotiations to leave the EU, so that both parts of a unified Ireland could be part of the EU, the Taoiseach has told a high-level British-Irish conference.

Enda Kenny said that achieving Irish unity, by purely peaceful means and by consent, is a lynchpin of the Good Friday Agreement and of the peace process.

“The possibility of unity by consent must be maintained as a valid democratic option into the future,” he told the annual meeting of the British-Irish Association in Oxford. “That means that, if there were democratic consent to Irish unity at some time in the future, there must be a mechanism to ensure that democratic decision can be implemented within the European Union, as was the case in Germany.”

The Taoiseach, who raised the prospect of a border poll shortly after the Brexit vote, said he did not believe there should be a border poll now.

“There is no convincing evidence to suggest that a majority of the people of Northern Ireland would opt for a change in its constitutional status. There are more urgent issues facing our island than a border poll,” he said.

Mr Kenny said that the impact of Brexit on the island of Ireland was an all-island issue and that the Government will soon propose a mechanism to facilitate a “conversation” involving groups and individuals from North and South.

All-island dimension

The Taoiseach did not refer to an all-Ireland forum on Brexit, an idea rejected by Northern Ireland’s first minister Arlene Foster, but he said there must be some way for the all-island dimension to be discussed.

“My Government strongly believes that there is a need for the widest possible conversation on the implications of the referendum result in Ireland, both North and South. It is an all-island issue. There are many organisations and individuals across the island of Ireland who are outside the political establishment but who wish to be heard on this issue. We must give them a real opportunity to participate. This need threaten no one. In fact, it is in the interest of everyone,” he said.

Addressing an audience made up of politicians, senior officials and business, academic and cultural figures from Britain and both parts of Ireland, the Taoiseach spoke of the enduring strength of the British-Irish relationship.

But he said that Ireland remained committed to the European project and warned against underestimating the difficulty Britain will face in securing a beneficial post-Brexit deal from the EU.

“The process of negotiation that will soon be embarked upon will involve a recalibration of all of the mosaic of relationships that make us what we are today. When it is complete, we will have a new set of relationships within the UK, between Britain and Ireland, between North and South on the island of Ireland, and between Britain and a 27-member EU which includes Ireland,” he said.

“No one should underestimate the commitment of the 27 EU member states to maintaining the European Union. The EU is the answer to so many historic questions for Europe. Questions that led to bloodshed 100 years ago, and questions that go to the very heart of peace and prosperity in Europe today.

“That is why nobody in Britain should think that the negotiations ahead will be easy, or that they can be viewed through a purely economic lens. For the remaining EU members, there are matters of historic and fundamental importance at stake. It will be a hard bargain to strike.”</s>If Independent junior minister John Halligan departs from the Government it would not destroy Enda Kenny’s makeshift majority in the Dáil but it would certainly put it on the edge.

Under the terms of the agreement with Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael must be able to command a majority in the Dáil when Fianna Fáil abstains. This requires the votes of 58 TDs. Fine Gael has 50 TDs of its own.

It also has the support of the Independent Alliance TDs – Mr Halligan, Shane Ross, Finian McGrath, Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, Seán Canney – and of unaligned Independents Katherine Zappone and Denis Naughten.

Of these seven TDs, six are Ministers or junior ministers. Mr Kenny also enjoys the habitual support of the Tipperary TD Michael Lowry – who has said he has an “understanding” with the Government but with whom there is no formal agreement for support – and the Clare TD Michael Harty, who has been appointed chair of the Oireachtas health committee.

However, Dr Harty has said he is supporting the Government on a “case-by-case” basis. He voted with the Government on early amendments to the Apple tax motion on Wednesday night, but did not vote with the Government on the final substantive motion.

With the support of all of the above, Mr Kenny has 59 votes in the Dáil – the same number he received when he was elected Taoiseach back in May. If Mr Halligan resigns, that falls to 58 – the bare Dáil majority with a Fianna Fáil abstention. It’s no wonder that both Fine Gael and Independent Ministers are on the lookout for additional support.

And there are certainly several Independent TDs who have often voted with the Government, some of whom – such as Mattie McGrath and Noel Grealish – were involved in lengthy discussions with Fine Gael after the election but did not ultimately join the Government. Others in Fine Gael speculate that newly Independent TD Stephen Donnelly could join the Government.

Any or all of these, however, would surely exact a price for their support. Mr Kenny’s Dáil strength is precarious, to say the least.</s>Sir, – The article by David Davis, who tells us that he is “UK secretary of state for exiting the European Union”, is trying to reassure us that Brexit is not a momentous decision with enormous implications for not alone the UK but also the EU and not least for the relationship between the UK and Ireland (“Ireland does not have to choose between the UK and the EU”, Opinion & Analysis, September 8).

He seems to think that the Brexit vote will not have a deleterious effect on the billion-euro trade between the two countries on these islands. He is mistaken.

He says that under Brexit, “Ireland will not have to choose between having a strong commitment to the EU or the UK”. Any assessment of Brexit that is based on reality would have to conclude that Ireland is being forced to make such a choice.

He promises to “strengthen the political and commercial ties” between the two countries.

That was already the situation since both countries joined what is now the EU in 1973. Brexit has, however, unilaterally broken up that arrangement.

Telling us, in relation to Northern Ireland, that “there will be no return to the borders of the past” is flying in the face of reality.

Brexit by definition is a decision to put a border between the UK and the rest of the EU. Otherwise there was no point in voting for it. – Yours, etc,</s>Britain should make up its mind on start of Brexit talks - Eurogroup head

BRATISLAVA, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Britain must make up its mind on the start of formal divorce procedures with the European Union as its economy stands to lose the most from the prolonged uncertainty, the head of euro zone finance ministers Jeroen Dijsselbloem said on Friday.

EU leaders have pressed Britain to initiate formal exit talks as soon as possible after voters chose to split from the bloc in a referendum in June, although the government plans to take until at least the end of the year to form a negotiating stance.

"For the Brexit process, it really is up to the British to make up their minds, in terms of when to start and how to get it on the road," Dijsselbloem told reporters in Bratislava before a meeting of the Eurogroup countries using the euro currency.

"I think, in the end, it will be the British economy that is damaged most, which I don't hope for but, I mean, this is my concern."

He also said he felt there was a strong political commitment from the EU's remaining 27 members to move forward together.

Other ministers said the so-called Brexit would be part of talks that should focus on improving the EU.

"We will talk of course ... informally, but all the more intensively, about how to strengthen Europe after the British decision," German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said, mentioning higher investment and stronger tax regulation as areas of discussion.

Sweden's finance minister, Magdalena Andersson, said Brexit should not be allowed to dominate talks.

"We, of course, need a good Brexit both for Britain and the European Union," she said. "But also within the European Union we need to take steps forward to develop the union and not only be hijacked by Brexit."

Andersson also said she was worried about signals that Britain could launch new aggressive tax policies to smooth economic bumps, such as lower corporate taxes suggested by former finance minister George Osborne, which she said would make other EU members reluctant over a deal.

New British Finance Minister Philip Hammond said on Thursday he was considering whether a fiscal response to Brexit would be appropriate as part of a budget statement due in November.

Prime Minister Theresa May has given little away on what she wants when Britain leaves the EU, saying she will not show her hand before Britain triggers Article 50 of the EU's Lisbon Treaty to start the exit procedure. That will not happen this year, she says. (Reporting by Jason Hovet and Tatiana Jancarikova; Editing by Jan Strupczewski and Alison Williams)</s>It is “critical” for the Irish bloodstock industry that Brexit does not result in trade barriers between the Republic and UK, according to a leading racehorse auctioneer.

Britain is the biggest market for Irish racehorses, with its buyers spending about €150 million a year purchasing thoroughbreds from here.

Speaking as horse breeders gear up for number of important sales later this month, Goffs’ chief executive, Henry Beeby, warned that the industry needs as much “free trade and free movement as possible” between the two countries post-Brexit.

“It is critical that no barriers go up and that there is free movement of people and horses,” he said. Mr Beeby added that the two countries’ racing and breeding industries are interdependent and barriers would damage both.

Goffs, which has operations in both jurisdictions, will run its high profile Orby sale in the last week of this month, where it will offer more than 400 yearlings for sale. Rival Tattersalls Ireland will host a similar auction in Fairyhouse, Co Meath, shortly before.

Mr Beeby said sterling’s fall against the euro, sparked by the UK’s vote in June to leave the EU, had not so far hit sales nor prompted Irish vendors to send their horses to be sold at auctions in the UK.

“I think that people will go to where the best horses are, and many buyers now do their calculations in dollars in any case,” he said.

Irish Thoroughbred Marketing figures show that in 2013 British buyers spent €155 million buying Irish bred racehorses at auction. Just over €205 million worth of horses were sold that year.</s>Pub operator Greene King says trading could get tougher on Brexit

Sept 9 (Reuters) - Pub operator Greene King Plc said on Friday trading conditions could get tougher following Britain's decision in June to leave the European Union.

"While the broader implications remain unclear, a number of recent industry surveys have flagged risks to leisure spend and we are alert to a potentially tougher trading environment ahead," the company said in a statement.

The company, which brews ales such as Old Speckled Hen, said like-for-like sales grew by 1.7 percent for the first 18 weeks of the year, helped by European Football Championships and better weather.

In June, the company had flagged concerns that Brexit would weigh on consumer spending.

Separately, rival J D Wetherspoon Plc said profit before tax for the 52 weeks ended July 24 rose 3.6 percent to 80.6 million pounds ($107.3 million).

Wetherspoon, which owns more than 950 pubs across Britain and Ireland, said it currently anticipate a "slightly" improved trading outcome for the current financial year.</s>The European Parliament has named Guy Verhofstadt, a former Belgian prime minister and arch-foe of eurosceptics across the continent, to represent it in forthcoming Brexit negotiations with London.

Verhofstadt, 63, leads the liberal bloc in the legislature, where he has railed against nationalists like Nigel Farage of the UK Independence Party, who described the Belgian on Thursday as a “fanatical” federalist who “hates everything we stand for”.

Parliament, which announced Verhofstadt’s appointment by a caucus of fellow party leaders, will have a limited role in the detailed negotiations with British Prime Minister Theresa May, once she formally launches the process triggered by the June 23 referendum vote to leave the bloc. But MEPs will have to pass legislation to enact a divorce and possibly other agreements.

Verhofstadt was one of a trio of parliamentarians involved in negotiating this year’s pact with May’s predecessor, David Cameron, which offered Britain concessions on EU migration and other rules in a vain bid to persuade its voters to stay.

Verhofstadt, who called his appointment an “honour” and said parliament would play a “central role” in any deals with London, has long taken a tough line with the British. But he spoke out after the vote to back Scotland’s pro-independence leader Nicola Sturgeon in her quest for Scots not to be forced out of the EU.

A Fleming fluent in English, he has often clashed verbally in the chamber with Farage as well as with Syed Kamall, the pro-Brexit British Conservative leader in parliament. Farage said Verhofstadt would speed Britain’s departure from the bloc but Kamall complained that he had been appointed in a “back room” deal and called for an open vote in the legislature.

There is little love lost between the Belgian and the Conservatives. When Boris Johnson dropped a bid to lead the party in July, Verhofstadt said he and other “Brexiteers” were “rats fleeing a sinking ship.” Johnson is now foreign minister.

The EU parliament is dominated by strongly pro-EU members, who fear that a deal too generous to Britain will reinforce centrifugal forces elsewhere. They will be keen to prevent Brussels and other states allowing Britain to retain full access to EU markets while keeping out European immigrants.

Detailed negotiations will be handled by the EU executive, the European Commission. Its president, Jean-Claude Juncker, has appointed Michel Barnier, a French conservative former minister, MEP and EU commissioner, to lead the talks.

The other 27 member states must also agree any deals. They will negotiate through the European Council and its president, Donald Tusk. He has named Didier Seeuws, a Belgian diplomat who was once Verhofstadt’s government spokesman, to coordinate the Council’s involvement in the negotiations.

While Barnier has been visiting Brussels to prepare for his task, he does not formally start his job until Oct. 1. EU officials say they see little urgency since May says she will not formally notify the Union this year of Britain’s plan to leave, under Article 50 of the EU treaty.

Tusk, who met May in London on Thursday for their first official talks, and Juncker, insist there can be no negotiations until that notification — although British and EU officials widely expect some general, informal discussions about how talks will be conducted and on possible outcomes.

Tusk told May, who has made Brexit campaigner David Davis her minister responsible for negotiating with Brussels, that the ball was now in Britain’s court. Notification under Article 50 should set a two-year deadline for its departure, either under an agreed treaty or without one, if talks fail to reach a deal.</s>Bertie Ahern didn’t know about Apple. “The Revenue Commissioners act within hard walls”, says Bertie.

Successive Irish governments were unaware of Apple’s special tax arrangements, according to Mr Ahern, a former Minister for Finance who was taoiseach in 2007 when Apple got its second generous ruling from Revenue.

Why not believe him? Governments didn’t know what was going on in the banks either, or in the banking “regulator” or in Nama or in the gardaí or in children’s homes run for the State by the Catholic Church.

And no doubt they knew nothing until recently about voracious vulture funds that used charity law to avoid tax. Sometimes you have to wonder if they know what is going on in government.

And then there’s the rest of us, who vote for politicians and who maybe do not want to know too much.

Irish ministers should get out more – in Chicago for example. The dogs on American streets have long known that we were giving it away. It’s what brings their firms here.

One morning two years ago I found myself downtown in the Windy City looking for breakfast. I asked a man in a suit if he knew a good place. He was heading to a great pancake house and he suggested I join him.

The tone changed as we walked. He worked for a big Chicago accountancy firm, and had just got back overnight from an audit in San Diego. Maybe he was tired. But when he confirmed that I was Irish he started in on me contemptuously about the “double Irish” tax avoidance scheme, laughing.

I pulled on the green jersey, the one they keep wanting you to wear to cover Ireland’s political and corporate embarrassments.

Humiliated as a citizen of Ireland abroad, I rolled out the usual lines about everybody being at it, and Ireland being a small, open economy on the edge of Europe that has to fight more powerful states for jobs. In the end I told him I was running late, and bailed out of breakfast with the guy.

In February of this year The Irish Times reported that Google had used the strategy known as the “double Irish/ Dutch sandwich” to move €10.7 billion through the Netherlands to Bermuda in 2014, allowing it to earn most of its foreign income tax free You can bet that’s the tip of a corporate iceberg.

So what should we do? The Government is scrambling to close some of the more obscene loopholes, such as vulture funds using a Revenue concession for charities that was intended to help the poor and weak. These funds buy up property to rent and make it harder for young couples to own homes.

For a century, Irish leaders have been going to America to attract investment to Ireland. Eventually, a combination of incentives and a low corporate tax rate began to pay off. Job numbers rose dramatically and, from 1961, the population began to grow again for the first time since before the Great Famine.

That was the deal, and it was worth it. Who relished a return to the depressed economic and social conditions of the 1950s or earlier? If other countries did not like it, then too bad.

Our membership of the EEC from 1973 helped us lure US companies. Closest to the United States by air, we spoke the same language and had a pretty decent standard of education. The weather wasn’t great, but the craic made up for it.

Yet what made the big difference was profit margins. Then, as capital became more global and mobile, and competition more cut-throat, multinationals could play one country off against another. A race to the tax bottom began.

We pushed things too far. Revenue appears to have had a free hand to do deals subject to no effective scrutiny. It is hard to believe that no minister for finance or taoiseach knew, at least in broad outline, what was going on.

We elect governments that have failed to monitor swathes of Irish life. It is no intrusion into the privacy of tax returns to demand that the Revenue Commissioners keep us clearly informed about the number and kind of deals they do.

Then the public may at least make an informed judgment on whether or not it really pays Ireland to keep chasing foreign direct investment, and can decide if we have any real choice in the matter.

Hopefully, given where Brexit may also lead us, it will not boil down to a hard choice between being in the EU or out of it.</s>Brexiteers this week hailed a record rise in Britain’s services sector last month as evidence that pre-referendum warnings about the economic cost of Brexit were nothing more than doom-mongering.

On closer inspection, the record rise was simply a rebound from the record fall in economic activity immediately after the referendum, but it was enough for a couple of investment banks to rethink their predictions of a post-Brexit recession.

Brexit secretary David Davis warned against overconfidence when he addressed the House of Commons on Monday, but he was optimistic about the prospects for negotiating new trade deals after Britain leaves the EU.

Davis’s candour got the better of him when he told MPs that it was “improbable” that Britain would remain part of the European single market after Brexit, an assertion that earned him a sharp put-down from Downing Street the following day.

Davis shares the confidence of many Brexiteers that Britain will be able to negotiate access to the single market on preferential terms even if it limits immigration from the EU. But a 15-page message from the Japanese government to the UK and the EU this week offered an insight into the pressure foreign investors will exert on British negotiators.

For Japanese companies to remain in Britain, the letter said, any post-Brexit deal must maintain the trade in goods with the EU with no burdens of customs duties and procedures; preserve an environment in which services and financial transactions across Europe can be provided and carried out smoothly; and ensure that regulations and standards remain harmonised between the UK and the EU.

Theresa May told MPs on Wednesday she would not be rushed into a negotiating position ahead of Brexit talks, but with opinion polls showing most voters expect some controls on EU immigration, it is hard to see how her government can avoid making that a red line. The prime minister has effectively ruled out an “off-the-shelf” option such as Norway’s, which would see the UK staying in the single market after it leaves the EU.

So most of the chatter at Westminster points to a departure from the single market, with a view to negotiating “access” to it after Britain leaves the EU. But as a paper published yesterday by former Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg and former EU commissioner and Goldman Sachs chairman Peter Sutherland points out, securing such a deal is likely to be a long, difficult process.

Among the first questions to be answered is whether Britain wants to remain part of the EU customs union after Brexit. Membership of the customs union obliges Britain to impose the EU’s common external tariff, so it cannot conclude any new trade deals until it leaves.

“Outside the customs union, all goods exported to and imported from the EU will need to be declared to the customs authorities. This will introduce delays, extra paperwork and costs for British businesses . . . It will also make continental businesses less willing to include UK-produced goods in their supply chains,” Clegg and Sutherland write.

“Leaving the EU customs union will require the introduction of new customs controls (a ‘hard border’) between Northern Ireland and the Republic, in order to prevent goods from crossing the Border in contravention of customs checks.”

Negotiating a new free trade agreement with the EU, which would have to be ratified by all 27 remaining member states, could take years. And Britain would not be able to strike individual deals with member states, because all trade agreements are negotiated on behalf of the EU as a whole.

Clegg and Sutherland pour cold water on the idea of any shortcut, such as dropping tariffs on imports from the EU to zero and challenging the EU to reciprocate.

“If we drop tariffs on EU imports to zero we will be obliged to do the same for every other country in the world. That would at a stroke undermine any prospect of securing favourable free trade agreements with third countries . . . we would have squandered our negotiating capital,” they write.

Besides, any such arrangement would not address non-tariff barriers, which are so important for British businesses and for foreign companies operating in Britain.
Taoiseach Enda Kenny says that Irish unity must be considered in Brexit talks.