Dr. Anthony Soares:

On behalf of the Ad-Hoc Group for North-South and East-West Cooperation, I thank the Chair and the members of this committee for the invitation to meet with them to discuss the ongoing work of the ad hocgroup, its overarching purposes, and to set out some key issues in regard to engagement with organisations on the island of Ireland involved in North-South and-or east-west co-operation with regards to the implementation of the protocol on Ireland-Northern Ireland. I am the director of the Centre for Cross Border Studies and convener of the ad hocgroup and, as the Chair pointed out, I am joined by representatives from three of the other organisations involved in the group's work: Dr. Aoife Ní Lochlainn, Brexit policy officer of the Irish Environmental Network; Ms Tara Farrell, CEO of Longford Women’s Link; and Mr. Chris Quinn, director of the Northern Ireland Youth Forum.

Joining together a range of organisations from Northern Ireland and Ireland, the ad hocgroup was established in May 2020 to act as a prime contact for purposes of meaningful consultation between cross-Border civil society and regional, national and EU bodies, on matters relevant to co-operation between Northern Ireland and Ireland, and between the island of Ireland and Great Britain. Organisations participating in the ad hocgroup are on the front line of the study, promotion, support and delivery of North-South and-or east-west co-operation initiatives across a broad spectrum of areas of interest and have decades of accumulated experience. They are organisations that see North-South and east-west co-operation, as well as wider international co-operation, as being essential to the ongoing peace and reconciliation process on the island of Ireland and to equitable and sustainable socio-economic development.

The primary objective of the ad hocgroup is to secure the continued means to co-operate within and between these islands thereby ensuring that agreements, policies or legislation developed or enacted by relevant regional, devolved and national governments and the European Union, are conducive to the maintenance of the conditions necessary for co-operation within and between the island of Ireland and Great Britain. In the first instance, in light of the protocol on Ireland-Northern Ireland, the ad hocgroup and organisations involved in its work have been engaging with relevant decision makers, including the European Commission's task force for relations with the United Kingdom, the withdrawal agreement joint committee, representatives of the Governments of the United Kingdom and Ireland, the Northern Ireland Executive and the specialised committee on the protocol on Ireland-Northern Ireland. The ad hocgroup is committed to working with others to safeguard co-operation and good relations within and between these islands, and looks forward to doing so with those who are currently making decisions that will affect the future landscape for co-operation and the maintenance of relations between our peoples. The ad hocgroup believes that in order for all interested parties, including the Irish Government, to properly monitor the impact of the implementation of the protocol on the conditions from North-South co-operation, there needs to be sustained and effective engagement with those who are intimately involved in such cooperation.

The Ad-Hoc Group for North-South and East-West Cooperation, which brings together a range of organisations with decades of accumulated experience in North-South and east-west co-operation and relations, represents an invaluable asset in this regard, and calls on all parties to continue and deepen their engagement with the ad hocgroup, including through the bodies established under the protocol. Such engagement with the ad hocgroup will ensure that organisations from the Republic of Ireland can offer their own perspectives on the extent to which they are able to engage in co-operation. It is our belief that no serious monitoring of the impact of the implementation of the protocol on the conditions for North-South co-operation or on their east-west relations, can take place without hearing directly from those involved in such co-operation who are based in the Republic of Ireland. We would be pleased to answer any of the committee's questions.