Gerard Craughwell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. It is great to see a civil society group take such an interest in this issue. I am not too sure whether Brexit is a hard or a soft exit will make much of a difference to what is actually going to happen. I was a little concerned about the reference in the submission to there being an over-emphasis on working with the UK, or with the English in particular, but the witnesses have allayed some of my fears in that regard. For me, the real work has to be done with our 26 partner countries. We must first convince them of the problems that we face as a result of Brexit. Whatever happens afterwards with the UK is another matter entirely. I note that the Children's Rights Alliance is calling for a bilateral agreement. The European Union has said that there will be no bilateral agreement, which is a matter of huge concern to me.

As I said, I welcome that the Children's Rights Alliance has chosen to meet with us today. Has it taken steps to meet sister organisations in the European Union, and MEPs from the North and South of Ireland in particular, to lobby members of the European Commission? It will be important that sister organisations in our 26 partner countries lobby their governments on behalf of the group, although whether they will be willing to do so is another matter. I would be interested in hearing a response to those few questions.