Emer Currie (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It nice to see everyone again and to meet Ms Harmon for the first time. I will pick up on a point Deputy Brendan Smith made about the Civic Forum. This is an aspect that I have raised, and I note people like Emma DeSouza fly the flag for the Civic Forum. To me, it is just a gaping hole in the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement. That agreement belongs to everybody and mechanisms were put in place to ensure that politics left nobody behind. Unfortunately, however, we have seen how politics has left people behind, particularly in the loyalist communities. Therefore, I am very much on the same page as Deputy Brendan Smith in respect of ensuring that the Civic Forum is progressed.

I refer not only to the Civic Forum, but also to the North-South consultative forum. There have been moves regarding the forums in the New Decade, New Approach document but there is no better time than right now to set up those forums. I refer to looking at the economic opportunities that are there for the taking by the North in respect of having access to the British internal market and the European market. The North-South consultative forum would be a very valuable place for businesses to engage regarding the all-island economy and for the Northern businesses as well. We are absolutely on the same page in that regard.

I look forward to meeting again over the summer in more face-to-face forums when opportunities arise as Covid-19 lifts and we are all able to get out and about more as we, collectively, are part of this bigger conversation about the future. I reiterate that I am in favour of a citizen's assembly but the issue for me in this regard is timing and getting that right.

The witnesses' organisation is set up to advocate, promote and hold important discussions about Ireland's future, including the possibility and viability of new constitutional arrangements on the island of Ireland. The organisation has people within it who have different views about timing and urgency. I presume that they accept that. It is a good thing.

Regarding the shared island unit, much of the Government's emphasis is on multilateral action and seeking consensus rather than pursuing unilateral action. Do the witnesses see the benefits of the shared island unit as a good approach to getting more people involved in this conversation in a positive way? While we believe that a citizens' assembly is the way to bring about constitutional change, it is important to get the timing right.