Mr. Paul Robinson:

I thank the Vice Chairman and committee members for inviting us to meet with them this afternoon. We very much appreciate the opportunity to engage with them on challenges and opportunities for the central Border region. We attend with a delegation of 15 representatives from eight member councils in our cross-Border partnership, which is evidence of the strong interest shown by each council in cross-Border co-operation. The other members of the panel will briefly introduce themselves following which the Irish Central Border Area Network, ICBAN chief executive, Mr. Shane Campbell, will make the opening statement.