BREXIT: 'Until everything is agreed, nothing is agreed' - McEntee

The Minister for European Affairs, Helen McEntee has told a gathering of Meath business and enterprise leaders that while contingency plans must be set in train for a 'No-Deal' Brexit she doesn't believe the 'worst case scenario' will happen.

Just hours later however, British Prime Minister Theresa May made that outcome look almost inevitable after a stinging rebuke of the EU's position on her Brexit strategy. 

Speaking at a special Brexit Business Briefing at Meath County Council HQ this morning and just hours after a heated EU summit in Salzburg which saw UK Prime Minister Theresa May's Chequers plan left in shreds, Minister McEntee said the Irish Government really needed to see progress before another summit convenes in November.
 

She said that the legal agreement or 'divorce papers' that will come into play in March 2019 need to be finalised. “We have always been clear about the need for any outcome to ensure the protection of the Good Friday Agreement in all its parts and to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland. Our priority is that work continues and is intensified to reach the conclusion of the Withdrawal Agreement, including the Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland, which encompasses the backstop for the border. 

"And until everything is agreed, nothing is agreed and unless we see substantial progress made on these issues by October, then nothing will move forward," she added.
 

This was echoed by Mairead McGuinness, MEP and Vice President of the European Parliament who warned that a No-Deal Brexit would have huge ramifications for security operations on the island of Ireland and for a whole range of political partnerships that would be unprecedented if the UK "pulled asunder the work that had been done over so many decades."
"It would also have very bad consequences globally, for trade, given that we are also dealing with a very difficult political situation with the US. 
"Frankly, I'd be more worried about the political-social consequences of No Deal, than I would be about the details of business because a lot of those can be addressed." 

Acknowledging the possibility of a No Deal situation Minister McEntee said the Copenhagen Economics Institute had outlined how projected growth between now and 2013 would not see Ireland slip into negative growth or recession.
Minister McEntee said the reports also indicated that five major industries would be impacted by the worst case scenario namely; agri/dairy chemical, electrical, air and retail and they would make up 90 per cent of the industries affected. 
"We need to ensure that these industries are supported in the best way possible." 
The Meath East TD stressed however that the above would only happen if the Government did nothing and no action was taken.
"I don't think (worst case scenario) will happen but we have to be prepared because while the outcome for a No deal Brexit is not good for Ireland it is even worse for the UK. 
"Yes we're preparing, making sure people understand the possible realities but really I don't think that will happen."

The event at Buvinda House and hosted by Meath County Council Chief Executive Jackie Maguire also heard from the CEO of Dromone Engineering, William Egenton.
Manufacturing and selling agricultural vehicle equipment Dromone employs 150 people in Oldcastle. Mr Egenton struck an upbeat note encouraging all businesses who may be affected by Brexit to make use of the supports available from their local LEO, Enterprise Ireland offices and by Meath County Council and chambers of commerce.