Interesting view from Enda Kenny......
The Taoiseach, who will be part of Brussels’ negotiations with the UK alongside his other 27 EU leaders, said there was an "inevitability" about an interim exit deal between Britain and the bloc.
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Kenny expressed his belief a transitional deal will take "longer than expected", hinting at an expectation among EU leaders that initial Brexit talks will drag on past 2019.
He said:"I think there's an inevitability about this to be honest with you. In 50 years nobody has left the EU, this is the first time a country has said, under the treaties, 'we wish to leave'."
Insisting Brexit will be "more detailed" and with more "unforeseen issues than people might have imagined", Mr Kenny added: "I would expect to see the divorce, as it's called, take place but that there'll be a transition period and then a new relationship founded between the UK and EU.
"And that transition period might actually take longer than people expect.
"I think it'll be impossible to do all of the negotiations inside the contemplative two year period.
"That's why I think there's a growing feeling in Europe there should be a transition period and that transition period might well be longer than those two years. I think it will be."