Dr. Anthony Soares:

In terms of remaining, it is up to politicians in Westminster and elsewhere to decide what happens. We must face the situation as it is and make plans for it.

The Senator is correct about the situation that pertains and how citizenship rights developed following the constitutional set-up of the Good Friday Agreement. Someone who resides in Northern Ireland but has an Irish passport and is an Irish citizen is, therefore, according to the treaty a citizen of the European Union. He or she has those rights as a citizen of the European Union. The question is how does one have entitlement to those rights when one lives in a territory that is not in the European Union. Some discussion must take place on how to accommodation the situation. The Senator has said that it is not a question of semantics. We must be careful with the language we use. In order to achieve what we want, we need to use certain terms. How do we accommodate the arrangement? It is an arrangement that pertains to Northern Ireland but it also pertains to the Republic of Ireland as co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement. Ireland will continue to be a member state of the European Union.

I am sorry I keep emphasising the onus of responsibility that is on the Irish Government. The position and circumstances of Ireland as a member state will need to be looked at positively by the other member states and the Commission.