Dr. Anthony Soares:

To follow on from that, I would ask this committee for its support in continuing this dialogue. A commitment has been made by the European Commission and the Irish Government to replace the current INTERREG and PEACE programmes, even if there is a no-deal Brexit. I ask that there is a dialogue with community organisations in terms of what that PEACE+ programme might represent and how it is to support cross-Border co-operation at grassroots community level. In terms of the dialogue that has gone on around Brexit, much of the focus has been on the economic consequences of Brexit and how cross-Border trade might be affected, but it is not always apparent that the same level of attention has been given to how it is going to affect cross-Border relations between communities at the grassroots level, which it is essential to maintain. The lifeblood of the Good Friday Agreement will disappear if we are just left with an economic dialogue around the Good Friday Agreement, rather than one that includes communities.