EU referendum – Put Ireland First and vote ‘Remain’

AHEAD of tomorrow's EU referendum, Sinn Féin MLA and National Chairperson Declan Kearney has urged people to “Vote Remain”.

Speaking on the final day of campaigning, the South Antrim MLA said Sinn Féin is calling on everyone in the North, as well as the Irish in Britain, to vote to remain in the European Union in Thursday's poll.

“It is very clear that a Brexit will be bad for the economy on the island, bad for farmers, bad for the environment, bad for workers and communities, bad for young people, and bad for Irish unity,” Declan Kearney said.

He urged voters not to allow British Tories to impose Border controls in Ireland in the event of a “Brexit”.

“Our people in the North of Ireland should not allow the most reactionary elements of the British Tory Party to set our political agenda or Ireland’s economic future and to drag us out of Europe.

“Brexit has the potential to entrench partition. We are committed to ending partition and we don’t want to see the return of Border checkpoints between North and South.

The Sinn Féin National Chairperson acknowledged the considerable problems with the current EU structures but stressed that leaving the EU will not address those issues.

“We have been very critical of the democratic deficit at the heart of the EU but the only way to change that is from within,” he said.

“We want to change the EU and build a progressive, prosperous and social Europe which respects sovereignty.

“Sinn Féin is calling on everyone to ‘Put Ireland First’ and vote ‘Remain’ in Thursday’s referendum.”