Gerry Horkan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We are a finance committee and I will have some particular questions on financial services, passporting and other issues in a moment.

There are many different issues and we have covered some of them, but has their been much kick-back from the other 26 member states? Deputy Donnelly alluded earlier to the idea that there are four or five of the 27 member states who will be very affected in terms of trade. The further away from the UK a member state is the less affected the member state will be. In Hungary, Romania or Bulgaria Brexit is not as big a deal as it is to Ireland or the Netherlands or France in terms of various products, exporting, trade and even tourism. Are there some people who are quite interested in punishing a member state which is trying to leave? Does the idea exist that Britain is on its way out of the EU and that we should not make it particularly easy for them to leave? We do not want to make it easy for other countries with elements of Euro-scepticism to leave, who might see that they can have their cake and eat it? Has there been experience of that kind of attitude? It is important that we understand that not everything is perfect and that not everyone understands everything about Brexit. I presume that people in countries like Greece, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary are not all that bothered about Ireland and are worrying about themselves.