I may be wrong here but having often crossed from France into Italy and reverse and found No Borders, I assume boats can travel from France to Ireland likewise. If someone started a regular ferry service bringing hundreds of passengers from Calais to a port in Ireland, I assume they would all be let into the Republic of Ireland in similar fashion. Everybody tells me that no matter how Brexit happens, if it DOES happen, there will be no border in Ireland. Just as between France and Italy. I have also travelled between France, Italy and Germany into Switzerland where there is indeed a border, but everyone says there will be NO BORDER in Ireland.

So anyone from the Republic of Ireland will be able to travel into the UK - Northern Ireland. And unless we construct a sea border between the island of Ireland and England, Wales or Scotland, it will be as easy as crossing from Italy to France.

There must be thousands willing to purchase a ticket from Calais to Ireland and eventually to London (where most sensible people like to live, especially W2).

Profits galore.

Great idea.

Post-Brexit, the EU citizens of France and the Republic of Ireland will be able to have unrestricted access between their respective countries.

For those of us outside the EU club, there will be numerous restrictions when we travel to member countries.

A hard border is virtually certain now - RoI will not be a backdoor for EU (or other) people - to come to the UK. Builders are already at work; many of the sites still exist.


Resulting in serious adverse consequences for the two economies on the island of Ireland...

France and Italy are both part of the Schengen zone. That's why there are no borders between them. Ireland isn't part of the Schengen zone, so there can still be border controls for arriving EU travellers.

There are already sea routes between France and Ireland. Cherbourg, St Malo and Roscoff all have ferry ports with boats to Cork, Rosslare and Dublin. There's also a ferry from Santander in northern Spain that goes to Cork. Showing a passport or national ID card is a condition of carriage with all the ferry companies. It's mainly so a manifest of souls on board can be kept, but I suppose it's also a border check in practice.

Plymouth - Santander - Gibraltar - Tangiers might be something to try in the Rolls.

What is actually over there apart from The Blarney Stone?

When I hear about ROI it is akin to hearing about the moon. I know it's there but not much goes on

Any particular reason why it's called the Emerald Isle? Or is purely colour?

That's interesting, Randall, about the Schengen Zone; I would think, however, most refugees stuck in Calais had, indeed, managed to get papers allowing them to remain in the EU. And therefore can legitimately come to Ireland. If there is No Border on the island of Ireland (which everyone seems to agree should be the case) - unless the UK declares Northern Ireland no longer part of the UK and a border "in the sea", there CANNOT be Brexit. As I've said for years.

That's not quite right, JK. Most asylum seekers are granted some form of residence permit while their case is being processed. Note that that's a residence permit, for the country they've claimed in. Not a valid international travel document.

Of course, if they travel within the Schengen zone, it doesn't matter, because there are no controls at border crossings. But they wouldn't be allowed even to buy a ticket for an international ferry. And even if they were, they wouldn't be allowed to embark. And even if they were, on arrival in Ireland, they'd be asked to show passport or national ID card in order to enter the country.

As for the border between the Republic and Norther Ireland, I don't see how a border post can be put on every little lane. Nor some kind of fence across all the fields. Doesn't seem a realistic endeavour to me.

Randall wrote:
As for the border between the Republic and Norther Ireland, I don't see how a border post can be put on every little lane. Nor some kind of fence across all the fields. Doesn't seem a realistic endeavour to me.

Well, a physical border existed - monitored and controlled by the two countries - for 85 years, until 2006!

Thanks for explaining that Randall; but I think we still can accept that EU citizens (the majority of those who Brexiteers are trying to stop entering the UK) could still legitimately enter the Republic of Ireland and, if there is no border on the island, then the UK. Correct?

Only about 40% of immigration to the UK is from the EU. The top five countries of origin for immigrants are China, India, Poland, USA and Australia.

If immigration was the chief concern of those who voted for Brexit, the government could have responded by cutting non-EU immigration quite easily.