Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Mr. Fergal Mythen who has been a very senior civil servant for the Department of Foreign Affairs and now is an ambassador designate to the United Nations has been extremely helpful to this committee. We find that there is considerable help from and co-operation with both the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs which we want to continue. The committee has visited Belfast, Ballymurphy, community groups, survivors groups and political people as best it could.

We are travelling at the behest of Deputy Smith and Ms Michelle Gildernew, in particular. We are going to Fermanagh and mid-Ulster in approximately a month's time. I see the smiles from Sinn Féin. We are travelling at the behest of Deputy Tully as well. I apologise. I should have mentioned her. We also hope to go to Derry. We would be happy to work with the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Foreign Affairs. The key message we are getting from the Secretary General at the Department of Foreign Affairs is visit, meet, communicate and listen. That is what the shared island unit is doing and what we are doing as a committee. The more we can build on that, the more sense it makes.

Some of us met with the Ancient Order of Hibernians yesterday which visited the Oireachtas. It was talking about British policy and so on. My point to the order was that if we can agree a shared future on this island, whatever that may be, and if all communities and political parties can sign up to that, there is no reason it cannot proceed. I could not see the British Government opposing any consensus that arose on this island for all political groups. That is why working together and meeting each other is critical and important. I have had a few meetings with Mr. Brian Rowntree who the Taoiseach knows. He has considerable experience. We can be given a wealth of information on our housing issues down here in terms of how the housing emergency has been dealt with and how health issues are being dealt with up there. There are considerable opportunities for us.

The only problem we have here is engaging with the unionist community in the political sense. We have Sinn Féin, Mr. Stephen Farry of Alliance is on the line, we have the SDLP and so on. We would love to meet unionists who are happy to do so politically without feeling it is any threat to their uniqueness and their remaining British, as guaranteed under the Good Friday Agreement, as it is guaranteed for people to be nationalist or republican or to follow whatever beliefs they want. What the shared island unit is doing is progressive and it is the way forward. It is putting money behind what it believes in and it is working.