Emer Currie (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Lunn and Reverend Karen. It is nice to meet them. I read the briefings with interest. What is nice about today is we get a chance to engage at a human level with personal stories and opinions. That is positive. I would like to see more of that in this committee because it is about reaching out to people in their day-to-day lives and experiences in considering the future. I believe that is what is happening.

The conversations around a vision of what a new Ireland could look like are really important. Reverend Karen is right to say it is not political but outside of politics. It is about people getting engaged in this and asking what education would look like and what health could look like. Obviously, it is important we move aside from the "isms" and go into the conversations of a vision. I really welcome any participation in these.

I have said this before at this committee. There is a big difference between the engagement people have in the North and in the South. Some people are already very invested in this and some are completely apathetic about it. Others are afraid to have the conversation. That is why I believe there is a significant degree of sensitivity around this. It is not to avoid it but to ensure everyone has the opportunity to participate, because it is so important.

The question around the citizens' assembly is about timing more than anything else and ensuring we are gathering the right momentum and doing this in a positive way. Senator Blaney referred to the talks and dialogue taking place before the Good Friday Agreement. We have to learn from that. We also have to go back to the 1960s and the civil rights campaign for social justice and all that was happening at that time. We have to allow people to get engaged in this conversation - that is what we call it. We have to allow people to get involved.

The question I have is around the civic forum and the North-South consultative forum. I talked about this last night. The Good Friday Agreement is so important and we have to defend it fiercely and implement it. I want to ask the witnesses about this. Who do they see becoming involved in the civic forums? I see it as an opportunity for the people who have been left behind and those who did not benefit from the peace dividend and those in business to consider the opportunities with the protocols for GB and EU markets. I see it benefiting North and South for tourism and the all-Ireland economy. That work should be happening. What are the views of the witnesses about progressing that?