Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In the UK elections to the European Parliament, many of the people elected were not pro-Europe to a large extent. If there were a vote in the morning in the UK, it might decide to leave the EU. There will be a long debate on the matter and the UK will seek a very much reformed EU. However, if the UK decided it was not happy with the package being offered, what would be the consequences from the point of view of the Six Counties and the complications that would arise regarding them? It would be difficult for us to handle the issue.

Issues arise in the important and changing area of patents. The view is that the unified patent court will be based in the UK. How will it be dealt with? There are advantages from Ireland's perspective to the patent court being based there. If it goes ahead, and then the UK decides it does not like the package on offer, where would it leave us if we have established a structure for all of Europe in the UK?