Ms Emma Sheerin:

On the issue of the absence of unionist representatives, we must be mindful of the fact that the assembly is currently ongoing, which may excuse some of the other members of our committee. I think that it goes back to the conversation we had about the threats that were made last night. We need political unionism to come to the table, show leadership. talk, engage and get involved in dialogue.

I refer to the health consideration raised by Senator Wall. I am Chairperson of the assembly's Ad Hoc Committee on a Bill of Rights. We do not have a bill of rights in the North. It is one of the things that was supposed to come out of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 but it never did because of a lack of political agreement across the board, as well as the British Government wanting good relations to trump having a bill of rights. One of the things constantly discussed by my committee in terms of rights, particularly socioeconomic rights, is the right to healthcare and how best that can be achieved. We constantly see that people have certain rights under legislation but cannot access them because of practicalities.

In the context of cross-Border initiatives, the unit at Altnagelvin Area Hospital in Derry, Ms Anderson's constituency, is an example of practical thinking and trying to find a solution to work for people. My mum is from Donegal. It does not make sense for anybody from her family in Donegal to travel to Dublin for treatment when they could travel 30 minutes up the road to Derry. Initiatives such as that are an example of using a sensible approach to deliver rights. Obviously, there are rights concerns arising from Brexit. For example, people do not know the situation for dogs for the blind community when it comes to crossing the Border, and there are issues with medication.

All of these things have to be worked out. They have real implications for people's everyday lives.