Ms Alyson Kilpatrick:

They are not withdrawing from the European convention yet there is some threat that they may consider it. What they are doing with this Bill is removing the enforceability directly in courts Northern Ireland. What is happening is one will have the rights stacked up somewhere but it will be very difficult to enforce them.

In the Good Friday Agreement, the commitment was to incorporate the Convention and access to courts in Northern Ireland so that one would have the rights but also one would be able to take them along to one's local county court and insist on compliance with one's rights. That is what is being undermined.

What also is being undermined is the identity of the rights holders. Some people do not qualify for rights anymore under this new provision and one must prove that one deserves one's rights. That is expressly what this policy intention is.

The Senator is correct. This is essentially undermining the Good Friday Agreement and arguments based on the Good Friday Agreement and why this protocol Bill is necessary are undermining the Good Friday Agreement's central purpose when it comes to rights.