Professor Colin Harvey:

I will work my way through the various questions before handing over to Mr. Bassett. On the question about the stage we are at, we are obviously further on than we were in 2019. As everyone will know, this conversation is gaining momentum every week. More and more initiatives are coming on board, and I have mentioned some of the civic and academic ones, with major universities now engaging in some of this preparatory work. I started by saying I think the island is on a trajectory towards these referendums taking place in the decade ahead but there is a need for more preparatory and planning work to take place.

As for the lessons learned from Brexit, where do we start? Two issues stand out. In the report and throughout the work we have done, we have placed an emphasis on responsible management and planning and preparing for constitutional change on the island, and that is not coincidental. We have looked at what happened with Brexit and we do not want that to happen on this island. We have placed enormous stress on advanced planning so that people will know what they are voting for or against when these referendums that we believe are coming take place. That is why the planning and preparation needs to start now. We have also emphasised the role of civic engagement. It is notable, for example, that Ireland's Future has placed an all-island citizens' assembly at the heart of its proposals. We do not need a top-down process; while we do need extensive Government involvement, we need to hear from people. Too much of the discussion on the island at the moment is based on assumptions of what people think people think, rather than engaging with wider civil society. We would very much like there to be extensive civic engagement.

On the questions about the Irish Government, I am disappointed to see the shared island concept being used and pitted against the idea of a united Ireland. For me, a united Ireland is a shared island. There is no either-or; these are not separate conversations. The shared island concept is intrinsically linked to the notion of Irish reunification. It is a new way of sharing the island. I would really like the shared island unit and the Irish Government to take a much more proactive leadership role in this discussion. It is at the core of the Good Friday Agreement. I am aware of the argument about countering divisiveness but this should not be a divisive discussion. This is absolutely mainstream within the Good Friday Agreement and if one respects the agreement in all its parts, one has to respect the right of the people of this island to determine their own future. There is nothing divisive about that.

Turning to the institutions, it is notable that recent work, such as the recent discussion document published by Ireland's Future, has highlighted the role of legislatures throughout these islands in informing the debate. Too often we go straight to talking about governments but legislatures, such as the Oireachtas and the Westminster Parliament, all have roles in carrying out the necessary planning and preparatory work.

Ireland's Future raised a basic question recently, which was to ask every institution on this island if they are prepared. I ask this committee that today. Is it prepared? Is it ready? Has the homework been done?

The committee will be delighted to hear two final points. One is engagement, invitation and being welcoming and embracing. We need to hear the diversity of voices that exist in the North of this island in the Oireachtas. That includes unionist voices and an increasingly diverse range of voices here that are not heard. The committee should welcome and invite people to come and speak. It is fed up of listening to people like me so it should invite somebody else to come to talk to it and engage. That is a way to extend a welcome to people from all communities in the North.

Regarding the US, we have deliberately focused on the international picture in much of our work. We have talked about the EU but the US also has an important role in providing support in a number of ways. There is now a supportive President in the White House. We enjoy bipartisan congressional support from the US for some of the issues that we are talking about today. It is important that bipartisan support continues into the future. We have seen the US Congress support the Good Friday Agreement, including the right to self-determination. It is important that friends in the US reiterate their support for the right of the people on this island to determine their own future and that should be a mainstream conversation.

What tangible international support will be available to an island that is undergoing constitutional change? We could nudge that conversation towards asking what tangible support the US Administration will give both before and after the referendums that we are talking about today. I hope that that conversation will become much more concrete in future.