Dr. Martina Lawless:

I wish to supplement some of the very good points made. We can take mitigation action on two different levels. At the level of the negotiation with the UK, obviously Ireland will be represented as part of the EU. A strong priority there should be to have the relationship remain as close as possible and try to avoid any acrimonious disputes. It would be better for Ireland to maintain the maximum level of integration of the UK with the EU. I agree with Mr. O'Brien that Brexit may not be 100% guaranteed but that it is most likely. We certainly need to avoid the hard Brexit scenario and the WTO default by conducting the negotiations in the closest way possible.

There is exposure for Irish-owned SMEs and, in particular, those in food and smaller products. There is still a role for policy to encourage greater diversification of these firms to a wider range of export markets and to do the latter at as early a stage as possible in order to make big firms aware of a wider range of export opportunities.

Wider export diversification is probably a positive thing for these SMEs in any event because over-reliance on a single market, particularly one with a different currency is always going to be slightly risky. This is a general policy objective that would be valuable for Irish SME exporters, even if the Brexit negotiations did get overturned.