Mr. Mark Bassett:

Another issue that features in the report is the point that in a united Ireland, the duties of the sovereign nation state will fall on Ireland. The Irish Constitution will have to give proper regard to the principle of parity of esteem in its law and we have said that should also extend to EU law. One of the points is that there will be many residents and citizens of the new united Ireland who will be British citizens. That status will be based on British nationality legislation but it will continue in perpetuity and it needs to be respected in the new united Ireland. There are a number of aspects of Irish electoral law in particular, which at the moment are based on Irish citizenship, so a helpful exercise at this point would be to identify what aspects of the Irish Constitution or Irish legislation are potentially in conflict with the duty of parity of esteem with the nation state exercising sovereignty in the North.

Other suggestions are made such as that work could be undertaken within the European institutions. Consideration will have to be given to rights of participation in the European Parliament for an enlarged state or in the Council also.

Another useful exercise would be identifying how the Northern institutions - the Executive, the Assembly and the Northern legal system - will be accommodated, at least initially, and unless and until something else is agreed under Bunreacht na hÉireann. A useful audit would be to identify if there is a potential conflict between any of the Constitution's provisions and executive, legislative or judicial power and to get ready to show that it is manageable under the current Constitution subject to amendments, which give effect to unification, and, importantly, give effect to the duties and responsibilities that Ireland will assume in a united Ireland.

The other aspect that could be considered is how the other east-west relationships will be accommodated in a new united Ireland. We believe for the most part that the provisions are operable in a united Ireland, but it would be helpful at this stage if work was undertaken within Departments in the Republic of Ireland to show exactly how that can be managed.

In terms of a citizens' assembly, it is suggested as being helpful within the report. It would be hoped that would build on the success of previous constitutional conventions and citizens' assemblies, draw in a membership from across the island, and make suggestions that would be part of any consultation process in advance of the referendums on unity.

The other point which is very important is that the preparatory work on the actual choice that will be presented to the electorate in the North and in the South should begin now. Some thought should be given to the wording or how reunification can be achieved under the Irish Constitution. Also, thought should be given to how the wording of the question will be posed in the North. We do not want a situation where we end up with incompatible results or two legal or constitutional systems which are shouting at each other, so to speak, with contradictory results. There needs to be co-ordination between the Irish and British Governments on how these concurrent referendums will take place.