Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment he has made of the potential effect of a UK withdrawal from the EU on relations between the UK and Ireland.

At the February European Council the Government negotiated a new settlement, giving the United Kingdom a special status in a reformed European Union. The Government's view is that the UK will be stronger, safer and better off remaining in a reformed EU.

The Government believes that the best context for friendly and constructive bilateral relations with the Republic of Ireland is common membership of a reformed European Union. A vote to leave the EU in the referendum would bring with it uncertainty across a range of issues.