Lord Ashcroft finds Irish fearful of impact of Brexit

Focus groups by British pollster Michael Ashcroft have found Irish people to be supportive of David Cameron's EU renegotiation and fearful of the impact of a British exit. The focus groups, conducted in Dublin, revealed sentiments in line with Lord Ashcroft's finding in an EU-wide poll this month that Irish people are among Britain's most sympathetic European partners.

Some respondents compared Mr Cameron’s referendum call and renegotiation demands favourably with the approach of Irish political leaders.

“He’s a pair of balls going for a referendum, he really does. Can you imagine sending Enda in there? But they believe they can do it,” said one.

Others were particularly worried about the potential effect on trade and travel. “They’re our biggest trading partner. It could make a huge difference to our exports in the space of a year. You can’t predict it,” said one.

Another was concerned about a possible reintroduction of border controls with the North: "We would have the ridiculous situation of Northern Ireland being a foreign country outside the EU. Would we need a passport to go to Belfast?"

Lord Ashcroft's EU-wide poll found that Ireland was among the most enthusiastic members of the European Union, giving the highest positive rating to their membership after Malta, Spain and Poland. His focus groups suggested that many Irish people blame themselves rather than the EU for the austerity measures introduced during the bailout.

“Twenty years ago we were on the pig’s back. But we wasted it. So a lot of what’s wrong is our own bloody fault”, one respondent said.