Dan Mulhall, Ambassador of Ireland was among the witnesses at this mornings (10 Feb 2016) Northern Ireland Affairs Committee on Northern Ireland and the EU referendum.
He said a UK withdrawal could led to “some kind of customs controls which would be a negative development for both populations and economies.”
Ambassador Mulhall told MPs that the Republic of Ireland wanted to “preserve the advantages” of its existing trade relationship with the UK, which he said was worth 65bn euros (£50.3m) last year and supported 200,000 jobs in each of the two countries.
“We have a very good set–up, never better than it is today, and we do not want to see anything cut across that,” he said
You can view the exchange via this link – the Ambassador speaks from around 10.35. Tom Arnold, Director General, Institute for International and European Affairs, and John McGrane, Director General, British–Irish Chamber of Commerce can be seen speak from around 9.30.