Ms Naoimh McNamee:

I thank the Senator for his questions, which are quite interesting. I am a little biased in saying that Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation's role was very integral or important. The centre is the only peace centre in the Republic of Ireland. There is the Corrymeela Community in the North as well. The difference with Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation is that we have no religious affiliations. It is a secular organisation. The centre has been going for 50 years and our work has evolved throughout that time to support the peace process on this island and to engage for the people in the North and the people across the island who are doing this. There is a very strong public service ethic in the centre. We are resourced for the State and for communities in the North. We work with politicians in London and with individuals in the UK as well.

I will come to the issue of a citizens' assembly or a public forum, but it is essential that there are places or environments where people can come away from the public eye, the media and the pressure of party lines and engage with each other as human beings, addressing the issues that come up for people. We need to be creative about this. We are in a very precarious time after Brexit. Much great work has been done by people in Northern Ireland and people on this side of the Border on the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, but we are still not there yet. We have made mistakes. There is much that still needs to happen. Brexit, as the committee can appreciate, has put much pressure on relationships that were hard won and which we worked hard to help create. That is something that has kept us very busy in Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation over the last almost six years.

For that private, confidential work, those safe spaces where things are very contentious, to be able to work through those issues in a safe space, to be able to disagree in private, come back together and work on that relationship, but have that commitment to work together regardless of the divides, organisations such as ours can offer a support to help people do that. That is something. We still engage regularly with the actors from the peace process who helped negotiate the Good Friday Agreement. One comment in particular that stood out for me came from a senior unionist politician. He said his biggest regret was that the importance of establishing and maintaining those relationships across divides was lost in the years since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. That is the strong focus for us in Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation.

Regarding a citizens' assembly, as Ms McGlone said, and we feel strongly about this, we support the idea in principle, but it depends on how it is done. It depends on the mediation and facilitation facility that is set up around it, the nature of the space and how it is done whereby people are encouraged to engage in a professional, courteous and meaningful way, and with a sense of creativity. The issue of the constitutional question and discussions about it is not something we can avoid, nor should we. We all need to take seriously our responsibility for contributing to the ideas on how we want to live together in the future. We have experienced a great deal of change on these two islands over thousands of years. We must not sleepwalk into the future on this, but engage well with each other on how that happens.

I have some concerns about how that is done.

On the idea of a Border poll, what scares me significantly is the idea that 51% or 52% might be in favour but what about the rest, in terms of a principle of consent? There are clear legal provisions in the Good Friday Agreement. All sides signed up to that. However, we have seen the contentious nature of the Brexit vote. We have seen what that has done to communities and to relationships in the UK and with us. For me, an awful lot more work needs to be done. It is painstaking at times. It requires a lot of patience. It can be frustrating. That informal diplomacy, back-channel discussion, and getting people ready to come to the table to engage in that debate is crucial. That is what Glencree does. That is where we come in and, as always, we stand ready to help in whatever way we can. We also work closely with individuals and smaller organisations that are working towards the same goals of peace and reconciliation.

As Glencree is the only peace centre in the Republic of Ireland and with the unique experience we have, we believe we have a strong responsibility to contribute in any way we can. The Senator is right in terms of the role Glencree played in getting younger politician, civil servants, community actors, combatants, former combatants, victims, and survivors together leading up to the Good Friday Agreement and how that important that was. When a relationship or conversation broke down, Glencree was able to go places where other State actors may not have. We take that responsibility and role very seriously. That has continued throughout the implementation phase, through the different negotiations, and through Brexit. From the time the vote was announced to this very day, our teams have expanded working in that area. We are working very closely with London in a time when relationships, east and west, are probably at their most fragile in well over 50 years. We have put a lot of stock in the work we do. It has to be quiet. It has to be done under the radar. Not many people know about it at times, but it is essential and something that we are committed to continuing as we navigate through these difficult and turbulent times we are facing politically.