 I noticed the title of today's proceedings, it breaks it, a risky business. For me, I suppose it's a pleasant change from government formation, a risky business, 80 days. I also feel I should remark, like many people here in the room, first time in the Viva Stadium at 9 o'clock in the morning, without a green scarf. But I do think it's important for the purposes of our engagement today that we do acknowledge the importance of the green scarf and indeed wear the green scarf in the context of this important UK-EU debate. Today we find ourselves exactly five weeks from polling day when that really important and crucial decision will be made by the British people on the matter of their further relationship or otherwise with the European Union. 35 days, I've fought shorter general election campaigns and indeed, as any of my colleagues will tell you, the campaign is now only beginning to crank up that there is a lot of time now over the period of 35 days for active and constructive and positive engagement. But I'd like at the outset to acknowledge the great work of the Institute, Tom and Brendan, for your leadership on this issue over recent years and I stress years rather than months because the Institute was one of the first out of the blocks in terms of informing people of the existence of the debate and the importance of the debate, not just from an Irish perspective here in Dublin but in Northern Ireland, in Britain and indeed across a range of European capitals. Your analysis, your reporting, your seminars, your meetings have made a very important contribution to this debate and I know you're far from finished in terms of your active engagement on behalf of the government. I acknowledge that indeed, I appreciate it. I want to make one thing clear from the very start and that is that is the firm view of the Irish government that we want the United Kingdom to remain active and positive and serious members of the European Union. We've set out this perspective repeatedly over the past number of years in terms of our own economy, in terms of our close people-to-people relations in terms of Northern Ireland and in terms of the really valuable role played by the United Kingdom within the European Union of 28 states. So I might spend most of the time available to me this morning to focus on the third aspect and that is the importance of the membership of the UK for the Union itself. Much is said about the economic situation, undoubtedly. I'm going to hear it later on today. The Northern Ireland dimension is both special and unique but perhaps less has been debated here about the United Kingdom within the European Union and quite simply, it is my view that the very effectiveness, the internal balance and the very credibility of the European Union itself would be damaged by a UK departure. Today's world presents us with many complex and disparate challenges. In very many cases, the best response to these challenges emerge when we work together as a Union of 28 with our combined weight, allowing us to achieve a level of critical mass to deliver for our citizens across Europe. In Ireland, we find ourselves by no means alone in very much valuing the UK membership of the European Union. I know from my own exchanges with my foreign minister colleagues around the Foreign Affairs Council on a monthly basis in Brussels that there is a strong sense across Europe that the UK's own history and the history of the Union are very much linked, not least in a shared vision of the rebuilt and peaceful and prosperous continent in the aftermath of the devastation of the Second World War. On the matter of the role of the United Kingdom in the EU, I strongly prefer their continued membership, not just to avoid the many consequences of their leaving, but I prefer this outcome because of what the UK can bring to the EU as a fully engaged member state in the years ahead. Within the European Union, I again prefer to keep the UK's shared determination with Ireland for policies which continue to support jobs and growth and indeed as we continue with our own national efforts on recovery here. I prefer having the influence of the UK and their voice as we seek to deliver concrete actions in favour of jobs and growth such as trade agreements and the completion of the EU digital single market. Urgent and important initiatives highlighted in the UK settlement deal reached by the 28 EU leaders in February and of course strongly supported and participated in by Ireland. So these are the building blocks for the ongoing prosperity of all our citizens. Indeed, it's almost exactly three years ago that one of these actions was boosted substantially through the work of Ireland and the UK. Ireland as chair of the EU presidency secured the mandate for the EU-US trade negotiations with strong support on the occasion from the UK and then the very next day the UK as host of the of the GA summit up the road at Lockhearn formally launched the negotiations in the company of President Obama. As Minister for Foreign Affairs, I again prefer to have the UK at the table on foreign policy issues. I see what my colleague Foreign Secretary Hammond brings to the EU Foreign Affairs Council in terms of the UK's global reach, its permanent membership of the UN Security Council, its expertise, its influence across a range of strategic important international issues. The role of the UK in shaping and contributing to the European aid policy is also hugely important for the largest contributor to the European Development Fund and while we work with them directly on the ground in various locations almost always under the umbrella of the European Union. For example, Syria-Leone, recent example of this, where the UK and Ireland played a leading role in efforts to combat and indeed ultimately eradicate the scourge of Ebola. And this work that we do together in other locations continues to make a real difference on the international stage. So I would prefer not to have to spend crucial time on unraveling the extensive and extremely complex EU dimensions of such important work if the UK were to consider leaving the Union. So instead, I'd very much strongly prefer this sort of work to continue into the future because of its importance across the global stage. Much of what I've mentioned are big ticket global policy issues, but my preference for continued UK membership of the EU is also informed by work that we do on a daily basis together on areas which involve the daily lives of most of our own citizens. Thinking, for example, the role of the UK and Ireland's work within the area, for example, of consular protection when our citizens travel abroad. Currently on the basis of EU arrangements, if there's no embassy or consulate in any particular location, an EU citizen may call upon the assistance of another EU member states embassy or consulate because we share a common language. Many Irish citizens who find themselves in such circumstances will approach the local British embassy or consulate in order to garner support. I'm thinking of a very sensitive and difficult case in recent times where an Irish citizen is in very difficult and challenging circumstances in Northern Iraq. We don't have people there, but we have our friends from the UK there who offered great encouragement, help and assistance in order to ensure that what might have been a crisis was dealt with in a way that had a very much satisfactory outcome. And that's one recent example of the importance of working together, Ireland and the UK, under the umbrella of the European Union. Also, times of major accidents, a tourist incident, a natural disaster. EU member states continue to pull together to coordinate their efforts to respond, sharing the knowledge and indeed sharing resources to assist people, to get them home to their people as soon as possible and safely and so on. We act centrally in Brussels and on the ground in the location where the incident from time to time might occur. So the UK and Ireland, Ireland countries with populations which travel extensively are key players in these efforts. And I want this work to continue with the United Kingdom firmly as a member state of the European Union. I could go on, Tom, and mention other areas ranging from climate change to the practical value of removing telephone roaming charges to hugely important issues such as the EU's relations with the Middle East, Africa, Russia, the unions, many other neighbors. In all cases, the active presence of the United Kingdom at the EU table is one that we want to keep because it's worth keeping. However, to be clear, I'm not saying that the United Kingdom will suddenly and rather magically become a part of the European voice if it votes to remain within the European Union. The distinctive and often questioning elements of the British voice would still be there, but its energy would be used constructively and positively to improve how the EU continues to do its business in a changing world. So in many respects, this is a referendum, not simply a referendum. In that context, the settlement agreed by EU leaders in February in which the T-shirt played a central role is crucial. If the UK votes to remain, it also endorses the terms of the deal which fundamentally recognizes the need to improve the way in which the European Union does its business. Indeed, for the Union to continue to deliver long-term growth and stability for our citizens, we must engage with this agenda in the period ahead. And many of the items on this agenda are not new because these are issues that have been raised from time to time in the context of our own referendum over a long number of years. Many of the issues now included in the UK EU reform package are issues that Ireland can firmly support and issues that have raised their head in the context of debate during our own nine referendum in the context of my own period in Parliament. So, I said at the start of the 35 days left, this decision, of course, is solely and exclusively and firmly in the hands of the UK electorate, but having heard both signs and I believe it's important, of course, that we at all times respect that this is an issue entirely for the electorate as registered, but I believe we have an important role to play in ensuring that the process of information is such that we place on the record our strategic national interest. Indeed, as we know from our own referendums, a lot of people, especially many of those who are undecided, only make up their minds as we approach polling day. And in the meantime, to help and assist them make up their minds, they do so on the basis of information received oftentimes from people they trust personally when making up their minds. And as we all know here, and perhaps if I can venture to say I probably know more than most, people vote for many and diverse reasons. So it's really important that we engage, all of us engage in the 35 days that lie ahead. That's where all of us can come in when talking to colleagues and indeed when talking to everyone we know who has a vote and anyone who not only has a vote, but anybody who cares about the Irish-British relationship and the Irish-British dimensions to this important debate. These people are at the core of the Irish stake in this issue. We speak as a friend of the UK. We speak as a neighbour of the UK. We speak as a 62 million euro trading partner, billion euro trading partner with the UK. As partners in facilitating and supporting work to help secure peace and stability in Northern Ireland and the prosperity agenda across our respective islands. So I encourage every person here today to set yourselves a target in talking to people at the Juneau who are on the electoral register. Let's pick 20. Let's pick 20 friends. If you haven't got 20 friends, maybe you have 20 family. If you haven't got 20 family, maybe you have 20 clients or customers or partners or whoever. I know some of you will know far more than 20, but I think if we pick 20 as an average and give yourself the task of ensuring that you make personal contact with them, give them the Irish perspective, ask them to share the word between now and the 23rd of June. And I believe it's critically important that we turn our attention in these final weeks away from ourselves, all of whom are probably of a mind here, but that we look at those who are undecided or the unconvert. Let's ensure that we get our message across to them. And also I think it's important that we reflect here as Democrats that low turnouts in elections don't really serve democracy well. So we need to ensure that following the act of engagement and that people do vote and ensure that the turnout is such that whatever the decision, there will be one that is made following due and detailed consideration. So I want everybody to join in the efforts supported by the European movement Ireland and others, for example, the Phone of Friend initiative. Let's encourage people to register between now and the 7th of June and to make their voices heard on the 23rd of June. The Phone of Friend campaign by the Irish for Europe campaign in Britain continues to make a very valuable contribution to this debate and I want to acknowledge their act of participation. From my own part, I am managing a targeted series of ministerial meetings during these final weeks so as we as members of government can reach out directly, meet the Irish community in Britain, put forward the importance British-Irish relations and that dimension to wider audience across the UK. I was in London last month and I have a number of business plans in Northern Ireland. I travel to Liverpool and Manchester at the start of June. On to London in mid-June. Indeed the Taoiseach is attending in London. My cabinet colleagues, many of whom have already arranged a speaking engagement in their schedule of calendars between now and the 23rd of June. As far as Northern Ireland is concerned, with the 5th of May elections behind us and the referendum campaign is now properly under way. I have spoken with all the party leaders. I was in Belfat yesterday and as we continue on the work to implement the storm and house agreement and the recently completed fresh start agreement all this work must continue in earnest but between now and the 23rd of June I think the greatest priority must be the issue contained in the referendum on the matter of the relationship between the UK and the EU. It's perfectly clear that the EU supports the Northern Ireland prosperity and the certainty of EU membership brings our invaluable open border arrangement into question and of course it's of vital national strategic importance that this would continue over the next number of years. So just briefly, Tom, if I can fast forward to the 24th of June and the announcement of the result of the referendum. I believe the result of course is one of the themes of your conference later on. If the UK votes to leave the Union we would of course be entering uncharted waters. The negative knock on effects highlighted by a range of independent research. The level of uncertainty overall must not be underestimated. From a European perspective the Union as a whole would face two or more years of an unprecedented negotiation process on the exit of a large but hugely important member state. This would of course take up a huge amount of time for all governments across the European Union, officials, politicians, others. At a time when let's face it we have really important challenges that require our full-time attention. Here in Ireland a huge amount of work is being undertaken across government to be ready to respond, whatever the outcome the importance of this issue was identified as far back as 2014 in our national risk assessment. All our government departments have been working for some time to identify the key strategic and sectoral issues that would arise if the UK were to vote to leave the Union. We will continue to deepen our analysis of the risks and key issues that would require priority attention in the event of there being a Brexit and it will be managed in a most active way in the event of such a scenario. There's already a clear framework in place for bilateral cooperation between the Irish and UK governments under the joint statement which both the Taoiseach and Prime Minister Cameron signed in 2012 as part of this for my own part. I have to say that I have a very a very positive and constructive excellent working relationship with my UK counterpart Philip Hammond. Such a bilateral engagement will of course continue to be the outcome of the referendum but it will become particularly important in the event of there being a vote to leave the Union. Ireland of course would have a large range of national concerns and issues that we would wish to see addressed at EU or bilateral level in the context of a negotiated withdrawal on the part of the UK. These include the operation of the single market the effects on trade between us the common travel area of course of huge significance and the energy interconnection links between our respective islands. We must remember too of course and this has not always been emphasized in recent commentary on the situation between Northern Ireland and ourselves here in the Republic but any negotiations would of course be a set of negotiations between seven member states on the EU side and that matters of the EU competence the scope for bilateral arrangements must be seen in that light and might not be as evident as many of the commentators have so far suggested. We would nevertheless seek to emphasize the very particular relationship that Ireland has with the UK including the delicate and sensitive issue on the island of Ireland and that said let me conclude by looking at the scenario which I strongly prefer along with the vast majority of people in this room I suspect and that is an outcome on the 23rd of June for the UK to remain firmly a member of the European Union. Here we have an opportunity as a renewed union of 28 member states to move forward together with the countries that face us and our citizens. I sincerely hope that the European Union remains a union of 28 members after the referendum on the 23rd of June and that the distinctive and really valuable and important UK voice at the table of 28 remains firmly in situ. So let's make the most of these five weeks between now and the 23rd of June make the Irish voice heard because it's so important for us here in Ireland so important for Northern Ireland so important for our relations with the United Kingdom so important for the European Union as a whole thank you very much