Hundreds of Irish weather forecasters are expected to get an unexpected Brexit jobs boost.
Ministers have signed off on an application to get the EU’s medium range weather forecasting station relocated to Ireland.
It comes as the prospect of a hard Brexit with no trade deal looms large in just 100 days’ time.
The EU weather station is currently in Reading but with Britain leaving the EU, it means many European institutions will have to move.
And the massive weather installation is one of those where Ireland can make hay while the sun shines, with 200 jobs on the line.
If we win the bid, the new station will be in Cherrywood, where Met Eireann has a base.
Our weather experts play a key role in monitoring storms coming in off the Atlantic before they hit Europe.
It is expected this will help in their bid. Meanwhile, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney was in Brussels yesterday ending two days of talks with EU colleagues.
He was optimistic that a trade deal can still be done with the UK, which would avoid a crash Brexit.
Mr Coveney said: “I believe all of the issues are resolveable through negotiation.
“In truth, many issues at stake, if there is a future relationship on trade, will become far less contentious, if contentious at all quite frankly, in the context of implementing the Northern Ireland Protocol.”
