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Farage: Ireland has been 'humiliated' by the EU

Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage addresses supporters at an event at the RDS conference centre, Dublin. Picture by Michael McHugh/PA Wire
Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage addresses supporters at an event at the RDS conference centre, Dublin. Picture by Michael McHugh/PA Wire Former Ukip leader Nigel Farage addresses supporters at an event at the RDS conference centre, Dublin. Picture by Michael McHugh/PA Wire

IRELAND has been "humiliated" by the EU, Nigel Farage has claimed.

Speaking in Dublin, the former Ukip leader recalled the austerity of the post-2008 European bailout of the Republic and urged citizens to rebel against Brussels.

The Irish government's spending plans were scrutinised by representatives of the European Commission, European Central Bank and IMF, known as the Troika, and strict spending cuts imposed.

The MEP said: "What on earth is going on in the politics of this country?

"How much more humiliated can the Irish nation be than for years being run by the Troika?"

EU funding has helped Ireland overhaul its infrastructure and benefited its agriculture but Mr Farage said the state is not even a net beneficiary of EU funding any more.

He told a sizeable conference of supporters at the RDS on Saturday: "You are paying into the European budget and your Taoiseach said in Strasbourg the other week he is happy for Ireland to pay even more into the European budget.

"Are you pleased about that?"

Mr Farage added that the perception of the media across Europe is that "Ireland is very pro-European, very servile to the demands of Brussels".

"I don't think Ireland is a pro-EU country, I think the political, media and big businesses in Dublin, they are the ones."

Meanwhile, British Home Secretary Amber Rudd has said ministers will not be intimidated by threats from Tory Brexiteers amid fresh warnings of a leadership challenge if Theresa May fails to deliver a "clean Brexit".

She expressed confidence Mrs May's Brexit "war cabinet" would be able to come up with a plan that commanded broad support when it meets on Wednesday and again on Thursday.

Her comments came amid warnings from senior Tory Eurosceptics that any deal with Brussels which keeps Britain in a customs union would be unacceptable.

Ms Rudd, who sits on the 10-strong Brexit Cabinet sub-committee, insisted that the government was committed to leaving the customs union - along with the single market - when the UK withdraws from the EU in March 2019.

However, she reaffirmed they would be seeking to negotiate a customs "arrangement" or "partnership" with the EU to ensure trade with the bloc remains as "frictionless" as possible.