Emer Currie (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I spoke last time as well but do not need an excuse to speak again. I welcome Mr. Bassett and Professor Harvey. It is lovely to see them again. I am interested to hear what they thought of the debate last night. I came away from it feeling very positive that we were having a mature debate or discussion about a united or shared island. We have a tendency to see things in a less nuanced way and not to take the dynamics in the North into consideration but I felt that last night we had a deeper discussion about the reality rather than the perception of the dynamics on our island. That is a positive move and I would like to see that happen on a regular basis. I would like to see those voices represented on a regular basis, whether at this committee or in public discourse more generally. That said, the voice of the SDLP was missing and it would be nice to hear from it today. I am interested to hear the views of the witnesses on last night's debate. I am particularly interested in the question that comes up frequently in this conversation, namely, whether there is a conflict or tension between the 51% idea versus our experience of the Good Friday Agreement. The latter was the culmination of momentum which resulted in a universal decision, or if not completely universal, an overwhelmingly positive endorsement. Do the witnesses see a tension between those two approaches at the moment?

Are the witnesses very focused on a timeline, a date and the role of the Citizens' Assembly?