Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. Morrow for the comprehensive paper and presentation. Senator O'Reilly has raised an interesting point. It is one I have tried to tease out in various fora regarding the primacy of the Good Friday Agreement and the unilateral move from the British side that - to quote the European Parliament's Constitutional Affairs Committee - "altered" the Good Friday Agreement. I may be on to a loser here, since I have not heard Senator McDowell express an opinion on this, but given the legal status of it should there be cause for concern that this unilateral move does not just potentially alter the Good Friday Agreement but seeks, in a way, to trump or precede the votes taken North and South? Does the Irish State have cause for concern that elements of the Good Friday Agreement, of which it is co-guarantor and which people have endorsed through referenda, is under threat of alteration? Is there merit within that argument? Dr. Morrow has said in his paper that an arrangement almost exists already within the Good Friday Agreement for special status. This may be arguable within a political context but within the broader economic and social context I am not so sure that I am convinced of that just yet. Does a referendum in Britain effectively trump a referendum that was held here on the Good Friday Agreement?