A new political party seeking to free Ireland from Brussels’ rule will be launched this weekend, following Nigel Farage’s call earlier this year for Irish Eurosceptics to field candidates in next May’s EU elections.
A key ally of the Brexit frontman, Hermann Kelly [pictured above, left], is one of the individuals involved in the establishment of Ireland’s Freedom Party, which will launch on Saturday following a conference in Dublin, according to the Irish Sun.
Kelly, who serves as director of communications for the Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy (EFDD) group in the EU Parliament told the newspaper that he and others involved in the new Eurosceptic party were “rebels with a cause”, predicting that “Irexit Freedom will be the new political counter culture” in Ireland.
“The EU has given us the good, the bad and the ugly — €44bn in cash since we joined, an unjust €64bn bank debt on the taxpayer, and taken €200bn worth of fish out of Irish waters,” he said.
“That’s not a good deal, and going forward it will get worse, with our biggest trading partner leaving the EU, and the European Commission imposing a hard border to comply with EU Custom Union rules. We will be better off out of the EU.
“Ireland has had EU patsies in charge of our Government for the last 40 years, now we need a patriotic party which wants to take back control of our law-making ability to the Dail,” added Kelly, who will serve as the party’s spokesman.
Other figures involved at the party’s launch include Paddy Manning, an openly gay politician who campaigned against legalising “same-sex marriage” during Ireland’s referendum on the issue, and former Irish ambassador Ray Bassett, who will outline benefits of leaving the EU including maintaining easy trade links with Brexit Britain at the event.
Speaking to The Times about the new party, Bassett said: “‘Remainers’ in the British establishment, and their allies in Brussels and Dublin, are seeking to use the border as a weapon to defeat the democratic decision of Britain to leave the EU.
“Remain voters know the imposition of a physical customs border would be hugely destabilising for the island of Ireland and threaten many of the gains of the Good Friday agreement,” he stated, adding: “Ireland can avoid these problems by opting out of the EU customs union.”
The event will also feature University College Dublin professor Ray Kinsella, who will argue Irexit is vital to preserve the nation’s military neutrality as political heavyweights in Brussels demand Europeans cede national control over foreign policy, according to the British newspaper.
Former UKIP leader Farage, who was a major driving force behind Britain’s successful Leave campaign, vowed to support any Irish bid to leave the EU while on a trip to Dublin in February, telling Eurosceptics to mobilise before next year’s EU elections.
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