Ms Michelle Gildernew:

I apologise to Dr. Hayward, Professor Phinnemore and the Chairman for being extremely late and missing the witnesses' earlier contributions. I add my voice to others on the anniversary of the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. I live on the Monaghan Border. I know the implications and the impact the events had there and, like others here, I think there are major outstanding issues in the Good Friday Agreement, especially in respect of legacy issues and dealing with the past, which we are not happy with at the best of times.

I apologise if the witnesses have already been asked about this and covered it but I wish to focus primarily on the human rights aspects of Brexit and the implications for the Good Friday Agreement. Martina Anderson, MEP, commissioned a number of reports that were carried out by Doughty Street Chambers in London, which provided independent legal advice. One of the reports concerned the human rights elements of Brexit and the ways in which they would impact the Good Friday Agreement. I see the witnesses nodding; presumably, they are aware of the report and have read it. There are massive human rights implications for us all. I live right on the Border. I am raising a family there. I know what it was like crossing the Border daily. I did so for much of my life and I fear things will very quickly go back to the way they were. Any kind of infrastructure on the Border will lead to problems. Therefore, for us, a special solution for the North of Ireland that ensures we do not see a hardening of the Border is extremely important.

Yesterday, the entire Sinn Féin MP team met with Karen Bradley. We have talked about unionists being in breach of the Good Friday Agreement and ignoring elements of it. We put it to Karen Bradley yesterday that the British Government is now in the exact same position given its refusal to hold a meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference. In the absence of an Executive in the North, a meeting of the conference would give political cover to some of those outstanding decisions that we need to make. I would like to hear the witnesses' views on this. Dr. Hayward talked about many people being comfortable with being in a devolved situation in the North of Ireland. Once Brexit came about, I think that changed forever. Eleven of the 18 constituencies voted to remain in Europe. I think that if people were given the choice - this is back to the Border poll - between remaining part of the British union and remaining part of the European Union, the majority in the North of Ireland, having already voted in a majority against Brexit, would choose to remain within the European Union. This is a very fundamental question. We put it to Karen Bradley yesterday and asked her again her threshold for having a Border poll. We have received a number of extremely unsatisfactory answers, and I would like to hear the witnesses' views on what they think the threshold is or what they are using as a parameter.