David Norris (Independent)

That is profoundly undemocratic, as is the response of some of the leaders of Europe, who should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves.

If there is egg on faces, the massive quantity of it should land on the people in Brussels who attempted to bully and hector, and who said we would be punished economically and would be the first victims financially. There were even people saying we should give back what we got. We got nothing to which we were not fully and legally entitled; of that there is no question. We also gave a hell of a lot. We gave our best expertise and the brains that helped to drive the Community. At the top of the Community, one will find Irish people giving loyal service. The Irish people are loyal to Europe but when they are treated like fools, when they are treated with contempt, when they are treated with a lack of respect for democracy——