Trinity warning on impact of Brexit

TRINITY College Dublin has issued a stark warning on Brexit, pleading for “prudence, deliberation and foresight” to save collaborative research.

The university notes Irish and UK researchers enjoy almost a thousand collaborations under the EU’s Horizon2020 programme, far more than Ireland has with any other country.

Trinity is one of Ireland’s most successful cross-border institutions. But the letter quotes Trinity’s great graduate Edmund Burke in warning: “Rage and frenzy will pull down more in half an hour than prudence, deliberation, and foresight can build up in a hundred years.”

It says that it is seeing a marked increase in applications from UK-based academics interested in moving here.

The letter states: “Many of them are outstanding but in truth we’d prefer to keep collaborating with them through existing programmes. We believe many researchers in Ireland, the UK and the EU feel the same.”

The letter comes as the British government was warned “not to mistake Irish patience” for a weakening of position.

Tánaiste Simon Coveney held secret talks with the UK’s Brexit secretary which have been described as “very frank”.

It comes as hopes grow that a breakthrough on the Border question could be in sight with Dominic Raab suggesting a new deadline date of November 21, before his department quickly denied this.