Ms Mairead McGuinness:

I thank the Senator for his good wishes. I really appreciate them. The Senator has raised a really important point on how we can engage formally and informally and have effective engagement because we do not have it at present and it is key. Perhaps the report could deal with some of these issues. When I was a Member of the European Parliament I dealt with national parliaments through the Conference of Parliamentary Committees for Union Affairs, COSAC, and I was a big supporter of this engagement because sometimes Europe is regarded as remote.

The European Parliament and national parliaments need to find a way to engage with Northern Ireland stakeholders that perhaps is not happening at present. Maroš Šefovi has tried on a number of occasions to reach out with David Frost to stakeholders in Northern Ireland and talk through the problems and solutions. This invitation was not taken up. I wonder why this is the case because there is no doubt whatever our differences are, and the committee knows them, the best way to sort them is to talk about them and resolve them.

The Senator has hit on a bigger point, which is that in order to get over what has been a deeply fragmenting five years, when Northern Ireland's position is more unstable than it was because of the Brexit vote, which Northern Ireland did not support but being part of the United Kingdom has got to go with it, we need to find deeper ways and long-term engagement in order that we can solve problems before they get difficult. On a personal level, I was struck, when I was Vice President in the Parliament and my door was open to Northern Ireland stakeholders, that they felt they had no voice at a really critical time. The committee has a role to play. I also urge my colleagues in the European Parliament to look at what role they can play and I am sure they will do so because we all know that in politics whatever our differences are the only way to solve them is to talk.

We need to find a way to calm the situation in Northern Ireland. We are coming up to a sensitive time and, therefore, what we are saying to the UK is that we should sit down and resolve these problems and work together to reduce tensions, to explain why things are the way they are and to find practical ways around particular problems for sectors and reinforce the positives. I do not know why that is not happening but I think it should. I would support whatever the committee does in relation to deepening that engagement, whether it is formal, informal or issue specific.

Before Brexit happened, if one talked to the farming community, there was no border. There is a dairy industry that is all-island and it worked really well. Brexit disrupted that. That is a tragedy for in the industry, for farmers and their families and workers. Politically, we have to find solutions and ways of engaging.