Howlin concerned at reports Ireland may lose bid for European agencies

Labour Party Leader Brendan Howlin has expressed his concern at reports that Ireland will not win either of its campaigns to lure the European Banking Authority or the European Medicines Authority to Ireland.

 Deputy Howlin commented:

“While the more cynical among us might suggest there was an attempt to bury this story on a busy Budget news day, I worry about what this report says about how Ireland’s particular Brexit difficulty is really appreciated in Europe.  I hope these reports aren’t true but they do look ominous. 

“As Dublin is soon to be Europe’s only English speaking capital you would have thought it would have been a good bet for either of these agencies.  That that is not the case is disturbing and may be indicative of a broader problem. 

“If these reports are accurate, the Government should review the campaigns around both institutions to determine what went wrong, and also to get to the bottom of what this says about European appreciation of the Irish issue. 

“Fine words are one thing but the current standoff between the UK and the Commission runs the risk of Ireland facing the perils of a no deal position.

“As Ireland will be the country most impacted by the exit of the UK, we could have expected some solidarity from our European partners on this issue.”