Ireland will not hold EU, ballot, says Taoiseach

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said Ireland would not hold a referendum on EU membership if Britain votes to leave.

He said the Irish people had committed to Europe through the fiscal stability treaty referendum in 2012.

Ireland would remain a member of the EU regardless of the outcome of the British referendum. He was speaking during a trade mission to the Netherlands.

"In the middle of the recession Ireland was the only country to have a referendum on the fiscal stability treaty. The people voted 60:40 in favour of that, thereby linking our future to the euro, the euro zone and the European Union. "

Mr Kenny said on Tuesday that border controls may be brought back between the North and South of Ireland if the United Kingdom votes to exit the EU.

Mr Kenny said yesterday he was not contemplating the impact of Brexit on the Irish economy yet . "If you go down that road you would have to have a series of complicated negotiations and have pointed out the difficulties in a practical sense.

“I don’t contemplate that because the referendum hasn’t been held, the date hasn’t been fixed yet, and a decision has not been made.”

He said Ireland would support British prime minister David Cameron "so far as the country can".

Very grateful

Mr Cameron said on Tuesday he would be “forever very grateful” to Mr Kenny for the support he offered when the British leader outlined his demands to fellow EU leaders.

Mr Kenny said: “We want Britain to continue to be a strong and central member of the EU. We will support that in as far as we can.

“A 500 million [population] union is easier to do business and makes greater impact than if it is beginning to break up.”