Finance Minister Michael Noonan said that there would be no need for a land border in the North if the UK leaves the European Union.
Noonan proceeded to say that it is vital not to have a barrier to efficiently trade with Northern Ireland.
Noonan’s comments came after a Cabinet meeting where Taoiseach Enda Kenny briefed his colleagues before he travelled to a major EU summit on a so-called ‘Brexit’.
Minister Noonan said that Ireland and the UK have legal agreements from before the founding of the EU. These policies would have to remain in place.
“Since 1922, there has been a single labour market between Ireland and the UK, and obviously you can’t have a single labour market without free movement of people,” he said.
“So that’s enshrined in law prior to our entry into the European Union, and that would remain the position.”