Catherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Bruton for attending today and for providing a very insightful, detailed and interesting presentation which shows his wide knowledge of and interest in the issues at hand. I am interested to know Mr. Bruton's feelings about the UK election. Who knows how it will play out? I believe that Prime Minister May feels very confident that she will come back with a larger majority which will strengthen her hand, which is understandable, given what opinion polls are showing. What does Mr. Bruton think about that situation and how it might impact?

Mr. Bruton said earlier that if they were to sit back and think about it, they would conclude that " a UK inside the EU is better for the EU than a UK outside it", even with a trade deal. While I understand Mr. Bruton's optimism, and I would also tend to be optimistic by nature, I get no sense from what I am hearing from the UK that is realistic. I ask Mr. Bruton to enlighten me further on that point.

How does Mr. Bruton think the evolving situation with regard to Brexit will affect Scotland? Does he think Scotland freeing itself from the United Kingdom is inevitable or likely, once the UK formally leaves the EU? On Northern Ireland many people, including the Taoiseach, have commented that if the UK leaves the EU, which it is on target to do, we could see a united Ireland in the future. I ask Mr. Bruton to give his opinion on that matter.