Without Europe, Ireland’s export industry will die, Liam Shanahan, chief executive of the Irish Exporters Association (IEA) warned today.
Speaking at the IEA annual president’s lunch, Mr Shanahan said Ireland’s participation in Europe was vital to the country's economic well-being, and emphasised the importance of a ’Yes’ vote in the Lisbon Treaty referendum in October.
“It’s not a question of a grey, complicated argument,” Mr Shanahan said referring to the Lisbon Treaty. “It’s simply a question of our economic well-being. If we don’t have a resounding ’Yes’, this country’s in deep trouble."
Ireland exports 80 per cent of all goods and services produced here, with close to 50 per cent sold to the European market (excluding the UK).
“European customers are the lifeblood of our export sector,” he said. “For businesses and for workers, Europe means we still have a future.”
A recent survey carried out by the IEA found that 96 per cent of its members believed membership of the EU was important to their business.
The economic situation in Ireland was now extremely critical, Mr Shanahan said. Although international markets have started to show some signs of recovery, we are not participating in any upturn yet, and credit remains largely unavailable to the IEA’s members, he added.