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Nicola Sturgeon address Irish Parliament Nicola Sturgeon addresses Irish Parliament
(35 minutes later)
Nicola Sturgeon is addressing the upper house of the Irish Parliament as she seeks to strengthen links between Scotland and Ireland. Nicola Sturgeon has addressed the upper house of the Irish Parliament as she seeks to strengthen links between Scotland and Ireland.
Ms Sturgeon is the first serving head of a foreign government to speak to the Senate. Ms Sturgeon was the first serving head of a foreign government to speak to the Senate.
She told Senators the historical links between the two countries had created a "special and unbreakable bond".She told Senators the historical links between the two countries had created a "special and unbreakable bond".
And she said relations between Scotland and Ireland were now "stronger, warmer and more harmonious" than ever.And she said relations between Scotland and Ireland were now "stronger, warmer and more harmonious" than ever.
Scotland's first minister is on a two-day visit to Ireland in the wake of the Brexit vote. Scotland's first minister went on to tell the Senate that she believes passionately that all of these ties will be strengthened even further in the years ahead.
On Monday she met President Michael D Higgins and foreign affairs minister Charlie Flanagan. But she said an "important context" for the cooperation between Scotland and Ireland over the past 40 years was their membership of the European Union.
It follows a meeting with Irish prime minister Enda Kenny at the UK-Irish Council last week. She added: "Scotland's experiences in Europe have not, of course, been identical to Ireland. We are not an independent member state - yet.
In her address to the Senate, Ms Sturgeon is expected to speak about the past, present and future of Scotland's relationship with Ireland. "But the sense that small countries can be equals in a partnership of many is something that appeals to us about the European Union.
She told a business breakfast of 120 Irish chief executives earlier on Tuesday that Ireland was a "strong ally" of Scotland on "virtually every issue of substance". "And so the basic principle of EU membership, that independent countries cooperate for the common good, has generally seemed to us to be praiseworthy rather than problematic."
Ms Sturgeon is examining possible options for maintaining Scotland's links to the European single market - and has a shared interest with the Irish government in keeping the whole of the UK in the single market. Ms Sturgeon is on a two-day visit to Ireland in the wake of the Brexit vote. She is examining possible options for maintaining Scotland's links to the European single market - and has a shared interest with the Irish government in keeping the whole of the UK in the single market.
Speaking at Trinity College Dublin on Monday, where she was awarded an honorary patronage from the university's Philosophical Society, Ms Sturgeon repeated her belief Brexit could lead to Scottish independence. On Monday she met President Michael D Higgins and foreign affairs minister Charlie Flanagan. It followed a meeting with Irish prime minister Enda Kenny at the UK-Irish Council last week.
Ms Sturgeon said it was clear from those discussions that Brexit was the "greatest foreign policy challenge that Ireland has faced since it joined the European Union."
She added: "For Scotland too, we know that how we, and indeed the UK as a whole, responds to June's vote will define us for generations to come."
The first minister repeated her calls for the UK as a whole to seek to continue as a member of the single market and the European Customs Union, pointing out that 48% of voters had chosen to remain in the EU.
'Independent country''Independent country'
The SNP leader warned the UK government that if it tries to drive Scotland off a "hard Brexit cliff edge" then Scots would have the right to "choose other alternatives". She said the Scottish government was "exploring options" that would "respect the vote in Scotland and allow us to retain the benefits of the single market."
"I have always believed Scotland will become an independent country and I think it will become an independent country well within my lifetime - and this may be the moment for that," she said. And she said these proposals, which are due to be published by the end of the year, would focus on options for Scotland within the UK.
She also said a proposal to allow Britons to remain EU citizens after Brexit for a fee should not be ruled out. The suggestion of individual EU membership for the 48% who voted Remain merits discussion, she said. But Ms Sturgeon added: "Of course, there is also the option of considering again the question of becoming an independent country.
"We should be open-minded about solutions that can help, whether it is Scotland or individuals, who want to retain their citizenship, their relationship with the EU," she added. "And that option of course remains firmly on the table. If the path that the UK takes turns out to be deeply damaging to Scotland's best interests, to our economic, social, cultural and interests, then the people of Scotland must have the right to choose a different future."
She also said she was "acutely understands" that none of what lies ahead will be easy, but that nothing about Brexit was going to be easy either.
The first minister said: "We are living today in unprecedented times, and those unprecedented times require imagination, open minds and fresh thinking."
Ms Sturgeon told a business breakfast of 120 Irish chief executives earlier on Tuesday that Ireland was a "strong ally" of Scotland on "virtually every issue of substance".