Mr. Pat Hynes:

It is a great pleasure to be back in the Oireachtas again. I thank the Chairman and the committee for having us. Ms Walshe has outlined broadly the work we have been engaged in. In terms of our own national efforts in respect of the island and the islands of Ireland and Britain, clearly the past three or four years have proved to be unique as regards the pressures that have come on the relationships as a consequence of Brexit. Despite our own particular stresses at the moment in terms of where we might ultimately end up, we remain committed to the three-stranded process whereby we want to strengthen and develop the relationships between North and South, within Northern Ireland and between Britain and Ireland, with all of the uncertainty that rests around it at the moment.

We have to be cautious in our international work. No two conflicts are the same. Our conflict is not identical to any other in the world. However, we have found in recent years that there is quite a large appetite around the world for the kind of processes that we put in place throughout our conflict. In a sense, the experience we have and the lessons we have shared are being sought out around the world. I have just returned from Bougainville where I was working with the former Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, last week. Many of the experiences and skills that he had garnered as a consequence of our process in Ireland were deployed as he sought to facilitate a referendum that would consolidate the peace agreement that was made 18 years ago in that part of the world. Experiences and lessons can be shared as regards the process of taking a particularly violent conflict and creating structures and processes to encourage once violent, perhaps paramilitary organisations to transition into a political atmosphere and political process; issues of trust; issues of weapons; and the big challenge in front of us at the moment, the issue of legacy and how we deal with all of the pain and suffering that is left as a consequence of any conflict involving armed action. There is an opportunity for Ireland.

What we have done on this island in the past 20 years or so has been quite dramatic. I am old enough to remember the 1970s and the transformation of life across the island as a consequence of the peace process is nothing short of profound. There are possibilities for us through our role in the UN Security Council, should we secure a seat, and those lessons and experiences can be shared around the world.

I am happy to take questions.