Moses2013

Congratulations to Galway.
Galway has been voted one of Europe's Capitals of Culture 2020

Perth

That's great, Moses - should be exciting. Do you plan on staying in Galway after the UK leaves the EU? I think free movement between the two countries is a separate arrangement and therefore continues?

Zelda247

Great news, Galway is a wonderful city, my second favourite in Ireland. Being a Dub of course no 1 is Dublin.

Moses2013

I no longer have British Citizenship, so I'm fine whatever happens. I think it won't affect those already living here and I'm sure there will be some agreements.

Zelda247

The EU have said there will be no special arrangements for Ireland when the British exit happens so its all up in the air at the moment.

Personally I wish Ireland would join with the the UK and leave the EU as well.

Moses2013

And what would be the benefit? Financially we are far better off in the EU:


Benefits of EU membership to Ireland

• Irish businesses have unhindered access to a market of over 500 million people
• An estimated 700,000 jobs have been created in Ireland during the years of membership and trade has increased 90 fold
• Foreign Direct Investment in to Ireland have increased dramatically from just €16 million in 1972 to more than €30 billion
• Irish citizens have the right to move, work and reside freely within the territory of other member states
• Between 1973 and 2014, Ireland received over €72.5 billion from the EU. During the same time, it contributed approximately €30 billion to the EU budget.
• Between 1973 and 2014 Irish farmers received €54 billion from the Common Agricultural Policy.
• Irish views and interests are reflected in the policies of the EU towards the rest of the world.
• EU membership has helped bring peace and political agreement in Northern Ireland through support and investment in cross-border programmes.
• The Irish language is an official working language in the EU, which helps to protect the country’s native mother tongue for future generations.

jonboy

So looking at the figures highlighted in red are you saying that Ireland received a total of 126.5 billion euros or the 42 billion as first indicated? Please clarify as twenty billion here and twenty billion there and before you know it we are talking serious money here!

The rest of it sounds good by me. Ireland has done well from the EU. Leaving would not appear to help as history indicates that England is not a great partner to have.

Moses2013

According to official European omission website yes:-)
Ireland in the EU | Ireland - European Commission


And this info here from 2013 matches Irish EU Presidency, The EU Explained : How the EU is financed
What about Ireland?

Some Member States contribute more money to the EU than they receive back in funding each year (net contributors) while some receive more than they pay (net recipients). Every Member State contributes to the EU budget, whether they are a net contributor or a net recipient. Ireland has been a net recipient since joining the EU in 1973. From 1973 to 2011 Ireland received €67 billion in EU funding and contributed around €25 billion, meaning that it has been a net recipient of over €42 billion. Ireland has received funding from the EU Common Agriculture Policy, from the Cohesion and Structural Funds for investment in infrastructure and human capital including education and training. It has also received EU funding for other priority areas such as fisheries, research, and the globalisation fund. Ireland’s annual contribution to the EU for 2011 was approximately €1.35 billion.

Moses2013

I totally agree and it wasn't even long ago when many people in Ireland had nothing, but we seem to forget that. I remember visiting my mothers uncle as a child and stood in an old thatched cottage that had no central heating, no TV and I'm not that old.




It even used to take 4-5 hours to get from Dublin to Galway and we're talking about the 2000s.

Zelda247

I understand where you are coming from but we have had to pay a high price as well such as not being able to make our own decisions i.e. water charges. I know a lot of people who would much rather be joined to the UK than EU.

Moses2013

To date I haven't paid a cent for water charges and as far as I know it's been scrapped for now and apart from the management side, I don't see a problem paying if the quality improves. If we like it or not, even in the UK you pay for water and I've never heard of any person in the Republic of Ireland wanting to be part of the UK




If the people you mention want to be part of the UK, then all those people living here could just move to the UK and problem solved. While people like to moan, we're not fools and are very proud to be an independent country. Just look at the HDI index and you'll find that Ireland is way ahead of the UK.

Zelda247

Gosh Moses I did not realise you were born in Ireland.

Moses2013

What has it got to do with where you were born? Most people, be it French, German etc., moved to the Republic of Ireland because it's the Republic of Ireland. If people wanted to be part of the UK, they would have moved to the UK, history aside.

Zelda247

Well a lot of Irish people consider that if you are born here you have more say in how it should be run.