The Dealer sees that the old chestnut of Brexit is back with a bang in the national discourse. It even made it on to the agenda at the annual conference of Agricultural Economics Society of Ireland, which took place in Galway last week.

In a fascinating presentation on the topic, the head of Teagasc’s rural economy and development programme, Kevin Hanrahan, described Brexit as an “unprecedented retreat from deep economic integration”.

Amusingly, he also quoted the American economist Adam Posen who characterised the British move as an “attempt to defy (economic) gravity”.

Let’s hope Ireland doesn’t get caught under the Brits when they finally realise the Isaac Newton’s laws of gravity are in fact correct and burly Boris et al coming crashing to the ground.