Ms Emma DeSouza:

I wish to comment on that. What the Good Friday Agreement sought to do was address the identity issues that were present in Northern Ireland. What is often forgotten is that identity was at the centre of decades of violence and conflict and what the Good Friday Agreement sought to do was creatively find a way to put identity on an equal footing and then remove it as a source of conflict, which is why we have this creative "Irish or British or both" clause which is unique within the United Kingdom. The real failure there has been the fact that (a), there has not been a dispute mechanism and (b), that it has not found any expression in UK domestic law. If one just looks at the language under the article it clearly points to it being a right to hold both or either. What is happening is a reinterpretation on the British side to find a way to excuse themselves from having to implement change.