Dr. Peter Rigney:

When it is gone Irish foreign policy cannot work in the way that it has until now and simply say, "The British will not stand for it". On a practical level, we have to make other allies. We have tended to work along with Britain at European level. That will be gone and the balance of power will be changed. What other blocks will build up in the EU? There is the Franco-German alliance and the Visegrád group, which is the group of new member states. Where does Ireland fit in all of that? These are matters that concern legislators, and I welcome the opportunity to put forward the view of Congress.