Mr. Colm McCarthy:

That is why I attach so much importance to getting involved before the referendum if the Tories win the election. If they do not win, the problem is solved and the issue may never arise. If they do we need to get involved quickly.

On the nuts and bolts, it seems to me that creating afresh a serious frontier between the North and South of Ireland is unique to us. No other EU country has a land frontier with Britain. We are quite entitled to draw that to people’s attention and make it clear that this is a big issue for us and that we need to get involved early.

I am not an expert in agricultural policy but GM foods are featuring in the transatlantic discussions and the scientific evidence lines up with the United States. There is no evidence that GM foods do any harm to anybody. If they did one would have to bring one’s own grub to New York.

If the British outside the European Union decided to take a different path in that regard, it would have serious implications for Irish agriculture. Britain is a big customer for the Irish agribusiness sector.