Mr. Muiris O'Connor:

In any change scenario, there are risks and opportunities. I am afraid that on this occasion, the risks appear to outweigh the opportunities. The European Medicines Agency is a very significant opportunity. We are one of a number of countries that are preparing bids to have it located there. We feel we have a very strong case, much of which has been articulated by Deputy O'Connell, such as the industry base we have, the university base, the fact we are English speaking and the minimisation of the disruption for the existing staff in London. That would be a huge boost to the industry, to Ireland's reputation more generally and to the wider economy.

Research is the other area that emerges as one of potential opportunity. This was not strong in the discourse before the Brexit referendum but the UK is a huge beneficiary of EU research funding because of the strength of its university base. There is a lot of concern in the UK about the absence of Horizon 2020, not just for funding but for the international collaborations and global standards in which the UK can aspire to lead. The Department of Education and Skills would lead on this but we work very closely with it in identifying opportunities in health and matters like joint professorships. Such things are being explored as part of the planning around that to see if we can attract some of the key researchers to Ireland.