Dr. Pat Ivory:

IBEC works in collaboration with CBI in Northern Ireland to highlight the opportunities of a shared island. We produced a report entitled, Business on a Connected Island, and that highlights the infrastructure gaps and what needs to be done to bridge some of those. It also highlights the sectors, including those I mentioned with respect to the protocol, such as the dairy processing sector. One of the real positives of the protocol is that Northern Ireland and southern Ireland milk can continue to be processed by the same co-operatives and still be part of the offering. It is a key point.

We are also looking at whether the export side can be developed. We will have conversations with the European Commission and the authorities in Ireland on that ambition.

There are opportunities to do that. The Senator quite correctly said that it is the early days of the implementation of this agreement on the trade and co-operation side, but there are specific mechanisms within the Northern Ireland protocol such as, for example, Article 11 on co-operation and so forth, which will be important in the future. The protocol offers good governance structures and good structures for both administrations in Ireland and the UK to work together. We want a deep engagement with business on both sides of the Border on how that is progressed forward.

Mr. Willoughby might wish to respond on the professional qualifications.