Frank Feighan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. Byrne. It is great to see him again. We have met on many occasions on the various circuits.

He raised three specific areas, namely, Brexit, the current issues impacting on Northern Ireland and the importance of language. We are talking about hard and soft borders, etc. The polls regarding a united Ireland differ widely. Some reflect the impact of Brexit and others do not. We live in interesting times and the Taoiseach's visit to Belfast last weekend captured something that maybe the political establishment is missing. Given the welcome he received during his visit to the Orange Order in east Belfast and his visit to west Belfast to the opening of the féile, we are in uncharted territory.

Today, in the Irish Independent, Mr. Dan O'Brien wrote an interesting article about an agreed Ireland or united Ireland. For the past two or three years I have been saying that the Republic of Ireland should consider joining the Commonwealth. It would send a signal regarding we are prepared to do if we want an agreed Ireland. How would Dr. Byrne view that? There would be many issues in the mix. Many of the political and administrative institutions North and South would have to change. Flags and anthems would have to be discussed, but we live in interesting times, especially with Brexit. It is probably unfair of me to look for Dr. Byrne's views on this because it is something that has come up in the past few weeks. Has he any view on what is the right approach?