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Policy Exchange says it's unlikely that Ireland will get a good deal out of us leaving the bloc

IRELAND may be better off leaving the European Union after Brexit, a think tank has recommended.

A report from Policy Exchange says that the chances of Ireland getting a good deal from Brexit are faint and it should also consider quitting the bloc.

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The author, Dublin-born Ray Bassett, said that the election of Emmanuel Macron in France who wants to see an increasingly close EU makes it more imperative for Ireland to consider departing from the Union.

It hit out at him and German Chancellor Angela Merkel for the arrogant assumption that they have a divine right to running the EU.

Since Britain voted to quit the bloc, there have been increasing fears about the impact of leaving on the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, on which many jobs rely.

EU negotiators have promised to consider the impact of Ireland first in the Brexit talks which began last month.

The report says that the benefits of EU membership for Ireland had been great, but that the bloc has since changed.

It also suggested that their low-tax economy, which attracts a number of big businesses from around the world, could be under threat with a more regulated Eurozone.

Irexit is a definite option for Ireland, should the EU and the EU not arrive at a satisfactory deal, it said.

It argues that sitting on the sidelines and allowing the EU to negotiate for Ireland is untenable, and that its interests would better served by opting out of formal membership of the EU, remaining in a customs union with the UK and negotiating free trade agreements elsewhere.

It said there was little chance of Brexit benefiting Ireland due to the complex and intertwined relationship it has been Britain.

It would be a dereliction of national duty not to consider all the options available in such challenging circumstances, it added.

PA:Press Association

And it said there will be a price to pay for Britain to leave the EU despite the Irish governments determination to stick with Team EU.

Deputy leader of the ruling Fine Gael Party, Simon Coveney, hinted at the possibility of leaving in an interview last month: Dont assume that the European Union can be run by two or three big countries and everybody else will just have to tow the line.

If thats the direction the European Union goes in, it wont last, because small countries will leave.

Reuters

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire is set to make a statement to MPs today about the future of the power-sharing government at Stormont.

Politicians have failed to come to an agreement to form a government even after a snap election, and the deadline for talks have been extended repeatedly.

If the DUP and Sinn Fein dont reach a deal, theres a possibility of a return to direct rule from Westminster.

DUP sources told The Guardian that one idea being floated to force a deal and return to Government would be to cut the salaries of the Assembly Members who are currently getting paid but they are not sitting.

One said there was a feeling that the public are outrages that politicians are still getting paid even though the assembly is not seeing, there is no executive and no business is being done.

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Ireland 'may be better off' leaving the European Union after Brexit, think tank recommends - The Sun