Dr. Katy Hayward:

I wish to add a further comment on citizenship. I am thinking in particular about the text of the Good Friday Agreement in respect of equality between British and Irish citizens. I can understand how it has come about, but the potential for British and Irish citizens in Northern Ireland to enjoy very different rights gives rise to concerns that this will undermine that major principle in the Good Friday agreement about the equality enjoyed by citizens, both British and Irish, in Northern Ireland. There is an extra dimension and that is that inequality comes from an apparent choice of a person to decide to be British or Irish. It should not be the case that choosing not to have an Irish passport gives a person fewer rights than a person who makes that choice. This is a consideration that should be borne in mind in the longer term.