Professor Colin Harvey:

I wish to echo what Ms DeSouza said. However, this raises another issue that may need to be considered. That is the question of equality of citizenship in the North in the longer term. In addition to the issue of choice, British or Irish or both, the question of a detriment arising around that choice will need to be addressed. Work is being done on the notion that we may need to move into a system that recognises the unique circumstances of the North, whereby we move to a system which looks very like equality of citizenship in relation to British and Irish citizens. That is why, in the earlier intervention, I tried to underline that the agreement is not only quite good at talking very specifically about issues of nationality and identity, but also about wrapping those around a broader framework about the human rights of everyone in the North. That is why the implementation gap on issues such as the Bill of rights, the charter for the island, leaves us devoid of a comprehensive rights and equality-based framework in the North. That is why we are feeling that loss, and that absence.