I was amused to see an RTÉ report reveal that up to 60 British-born European Commission officials have applied for Irish passports.

These officials, presumably with Irish heritage, availed of an Irish passport “to maintain upward mobility within the EU institutions after Brexit”, the report stated.

More worryingly, it also recounts a looming shortage of Irish among the Brussels bureaucrats.

High wages here mean that graduates are not as attracted to making Kitty O’Shea’s their local as they used to be.

That is a concern, because the now-departed British were allies for the Irish position on a surprising number of issues. We can’t afford any further loss of influence in the corridors of power.