Dr. Anthony Soares:

On political engagement, we recently addressed the 58th plenary of the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly and presented on the new common charter. The reception was extremely good. There were many comments supportive of the new common chapter and questions about how members could take it forward. The challenge for us is how to plug in to that goodwill to ensure those parliamentarians will put the good words into action. We will continue to address that issue.

On local authority engagement, we are planning to address the all-Ireland Local Authority Forum which brings together the chief executives of local authorities, North and South, to try to bring them on board. The Centre for Cross-Border Studies has good relations with the three local authority cross-Border networks, the East Border Region, the Irish Central Border Area Network and the North West Regional Strategic Partnership, which are very important in terms of what the common charter represents.

Up to now, political engagement has been positive, although we have only started in the last month or so. Turning the positive reception into something more concrete is key. The common charter talks about all relationships - relationships at the Border, all-island relationships and relationships between the islands; we do not focus on one to the detriment of others. It allows political representatives to engage in a more positive manner.

I refer to engagement with Brussels and the European Commission, in particular. I should emphasise that the common charter is not my product but that of the organisation and the community groups that have been involved in the project. It is their work, not mine, and they might hold a different view. However, before we go to the Commission to seek its engagement, we must have something solid between these islands.

Senator Coffey referred to the Structural Fund and the connections with Wales. It has been a topic of conversation with the groups in Wales and the Welsh Assembly. A recent report discussed how Wales wished to have external engagement post Brexit. They want the relationships which have been facilitated by the EU Structural Fund until now to continue. On the island of Ireland Northern Ireland is involved in one INTERREG programme which also involves Scotland and the Republic of Ireland. There is also an INTERREG programme between Wales and the Republic of Ireland. The EU commitment applies to the island of Ireland and North-South co-operation. It does not really address the connections we have through the INTERREG programme with Scotland, on the one hand, and Wales, on the other. It is really important that something be done to ensure there will be structures in place and funds available to enable these relationships to progress after Brexit. With others, we are involved in following the progress which is somewhat slow of the UK Government's Shared Prosperity Fund, its proposal for what will replace the EU Structural Fund. Up to now, we have seen no evidence that that programme will enable cross-Border co-operation. It is to deal with regional disparities in the four nations which make up the United Kingdom.

It does not recognise the fact that Structural Funds are absolutely crucial to cross-Border co-operation between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, co-operation with Scotland and between Wales and the Republic of Ireland. That is something we are attempting to address.

Deputy Martin Kenny made the important comment that we are all victims and products of our histories. That can be seen in the context of the Good Friday Agreement, what it has achieved, all the connections it has created and the ability for us to talk to each other and identify common issues. We sometimes miss those types of granular things in the entire Brexit debate, which is more concentrated on the big ticket issues of high politics, business and trade. The small but vital connections that have been enabled and facilitated by the Good Friday Agreement are sometimes missing from the Brexit debate.

The groups involved in the common charter insisted on introducing a section that I had never thought of: a preface within which the community groups wanted to highlight the fact that this charter is not just being dropped from outer space but is building on things that exist. They made the precise comment about shared histories and languages, cultural and sporting connections that exist within these islands. They wanted to ensure those things are recognised.

The common charter represents an attempt to ensure we capture the lifeblood of relations within and across these islands. I do not think that, with Brexit, we will necessarily see the end of the institutions that were created by the Good Friday Agreement. We should not, and cannot, see the end of those institutions, including the North-South Ministerial Council and the British-Irish Council which are not, and cannot be, at risk. However, for those structures to operate properly and to give them added value, that lifeblood must exist underneath them. There must be community groups working together because there would be no point in having a North-South Ministerial Council or British-Irish Council that brings Ministers or political representatives together for a dialogue if there is little or nothing happening on the ground. The common charter is an attempt to ensure that, whatever happens with Brexit, those connections and relations will happen post Brexit.