Ms Aingeal O?Donoghue:

On the question of how we draw up the lists, to build on what Mr. Duffy said, I cannot say that we have reached everyone. Part of it is numbers and part of it is knowledge. Most importantly, we are not simply taking the tried and tested or the well-known stakeholders or interlocutors on a particular suite of issues, whether it is equality, the environment or whatever. We are trying to push out the boundaries and very consciously look at more local groups or those which have not previously been involved in the work in any North-South dimension. We are thinking about Traveller groups and minority ethnic groups. Some of it is about a conscious decision to ask whether we have enough or the right set of people. It is about pushing and asking who we could speak to about certain issues and who might be able to make suggestions for groups to be contacted.

Mr. Maskey knows better than I do that we are not starting this work from scratch. A huge amount of work is already taking place on the island. There is a huge amount of outreach and engagement that our colleagues, particularly in the Department of Foreign Affairs, do in Northern Ireland on a daily basis, including through the Belfast office. Therefore, we have things to draw on. When we are having a dialogue in an area like the environment, we obviously engage with the relevant Department and agencies and seek suggestions from them on who we can contact. I am not saying that we get to everyone; I do not think we do. However, we have made a very creditable effort at pushing the boundaries. We can see that in the dialogues and the perspectives that are brought to them. When we get to having face-to-face meetings, we will need to look at that strategy again and how we can really make it work on the ground for people. We are always happy to get suggestions.

On the issue of the high-speed rail link, it is a key part of the strategic rail review, along with the idea of having a spine of connectivity. It is part of the overall review.

I very much hear what Mr. Hazzard has said on the issue of the Narrow Water bridge project. He is probably right that we may need to have a further conversation on the matter. I can tell him that the project is very much on our list of priorities. We have had a lot of engagement with the two local councils. The Northern Ireland Executive's Minister for Infrastructure, Nichola Mallon, and her officials are also very positively disposed to the project. However, there are still a range of issues around the project, linked to design, planning permissions and other areas, that we are working through. Frankly, I would be happy to hear as many voices from the region and locality urging action on the Narrow Water bridge project as possible, because it is important that there is a real understanding that this is something that is valuable and wanted in the local region.

On the tourism point, even on the other side the Wild Atlantic Way also stops at the Border, even though it is picked up, as it were, by the causeway. To look at something like that would require positive engagement from the Northern Ireland Executive. The were some discussions the time we established the Wild Atlantic Way. We would be happy to continue to discuss it, but I am not sure that we would get a positive response right now on that.

On the referendum, this may seem like the opposite of the point about the money that we have in the Shared Island Fund being used. The shared island initiative is not taking over all pieces of work that relate to North-South or all-island work. Obviously, we have an interest in the referendum and we keep engaged with it, but it is being led by colleagues in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage who have responsibility for electoral issues and by colleagues in the Department of Foreign Affairs. It is not a project we are taking on separately. It already has structures around it and a commitment from Government on it. They will continue to deliver on that.

We want to have engagement with the diaspora. We have only had limited engagement so far. When we started this, we would have thought about trips to the United States, many trips to Great Britain etc. and how we might begin to open up conversations there. We have done a little bit of engagement with the diaspora, but not as much as we would like at this stage and we need to develop it more.

I accept what was said about the citizens' assembly not being a choice of one or the other. The Government's approach is the shared island approach through the shared island dialogues. The Taoiseach and the Minister have both outlined their position on a citizens' assembly.