James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Mr. Powell to the committee. I have followed his work with great interest for a long time and, indeed, his writings. I give him full credit for his involvement at a difficult time in terms of the Good Friday Agreement and what happened afterwards.

In light of more recent events and something that to an extent was stated as being a concern at the time, namely, the division of the Assembly under the Good Friday Agreement in terms of delineation and designation of members as they enter the Assembly in regard to what block they adhered to. I think there are two blocks and a category of "other". I recall that at the time, even though I was a steadfast and ardent supporter of the agreement and was delighted to see it being passed overwhelmingly on both sides of the island, there were some writings, particularly by those on the left who said that some representatives may not fit easily into either category and they were not satisfied with the other category. At the time it was probably quite an abstract academic concern but it has become more prominent and a live issue right now, and we see that with the Alliance Party and maybe some others. Perhaps that is an attitude that may grow. Already in this afternoon's session, we have heard talk about a middle ground. I understand that it was a necessary step to get cross-community consensus at the time. Does Mr. Powell envisage the matter will be revisited later as things, dare I say, become normalised or matured? He might give members some words of wisdom on that issue going forward.