The EU 27 will address their own political needs first

No sooner had the Government released its Summer Statement – its plan for the 2017 budget and the following years - than the news broke of the UK decision to leave the EU.

Last Monday, the Government proceeded with its National Economic Dialogue.

The gathering is a two-day meeting of Government ministers, other members of the Oireachtas, civil servants and civil society groups to discuss the kind of things that should feature in the Government’s economic plans both in the short term and in the longer term.