Brexit secretary says Irish in Britain ‘will be protected’
Thousands of Irish people living in Britain will have their rights protected even if there is a ‘no deal’ Brexit comes to pass next March.
The development was confirmed in one of 28 technical notices on Brexit published by Downing Street yesterday as Britain separately warned the EU it will refuse to pay its €44bn divorce bill if no Brexit deal is reached.
As Chief Justice Frank Clarke predicted that Ireland could become a “safe haven” for businesses, Britain’s department for exiting the EU assured Irish citizens living in Britain of their rights.
In a detailed briefing note, the department wrote: “If you are an Irish citizen you would continue to have the right to enter and remain in the UK, as now. You are not required to do anything to protect your status.
In addition, you would continue to enjoy the reciprocal rights associated with the common travel area in the same way that British citizens in Ireland would if there is no deal.
“These rights include the right to work, study and vote, access to social welfare benefits and health services.”
The clarity was given as British Brexit secretary Dominic Raab warned the EU that London will not pay its €44bn divorce bill if there is no deal.
Writing in the , Mr Raab said that “the government would not pay the terms of the financial settlement” if there fails to be a Brexit deal, saying that “there’s no deal without the whole deal”.
Ratings agency Moody’s also separately warned that Ireland could be just as badly damaged by a no deal Brexit as Britain, saying we could “bear a loss in output commensurate with that of the UK”.
However, contradicting the claim, Mr Justice Clarke said Ireland could become a “safe haven” for businesses and international disputes if Britain leaves the EU as it will mean we will be the only “common law” EU member state.
