Mr. Trevor Lunn:

I echo what Reverend Karen has said. The question of how to populate a civic forum or citizens' assembly is an interesting one. I do not quite know how the candidates would selected. Not having politicians would be a good start because a citizens' assembly would need to have a non-political discussion.

As regards people changing their minds and being prepared to move into a space where they would consider the kinds of questions I am trying to promote and that we are discussing, we should look at the voting figures. My ex-party, the Alliance Party, has suddenly seen a surge of votes. One should bear in mind that the Alliance Party is agnostic on the Border situation and reunification, yet it has experienced a major surge in the form of DUP voters transferring to it. This was very much evident in the European Parliament elections. It was also evident in the last Assembly elections and it was certainly evident in the Westminster election, particularly in the Lagan Valley constituency.

My thrust is to compare the circumstances that have developed over the years in the Republic and Northern Ireland. Fifty years ago, Northern Ireland was the powerhouse of Ireland. In manufacturing terms, it was the big noise. Dublin was well behind the eight ball, as is said these days. This situation has changed dramatically over the years. Apart from the Republic having become a powerhouse of industry, technology and all the rest of it, it has made terrific social strides that people in the North did not see coming. We would have thought it would never have happened in the South. The Republic has shown us the way in terms of gay marriage, abortion and other social issues and we are having to play catch-up with a bit of help from the British Government. All these matters needs to be discussed in something like a citizens' assembly. There are enough people in the North who are prepared to participate, listen and make their own judgments on them.