Dr. Martina Lawless:

We have generally looked at the impact being the other way around: although there may be some incentive for particular firms for which it is important to relocate in the UK, the greater likelihood is that access to the much larger EU market is a factor for multinationals. Therefore there is possibly more of an incentive for firms currently located in the UK, particularly in the financial sector, where access to the EU market would be very important, to relocate. We have already seen a number of financial companies make announcements about relocation and setting up offices. It is probably more likely that the multinational move would be into Ireland rather than outwards, apart from individual firms; we cannot rule them out.