Mr. Ciar?n Hartley:

A Chathaoirligh agus a Sheanadóirí, is mór an onóir dom a bheith i láthair mar chuid den tionscnamh tábhachtach seo ag am stairiúil dár dtír, agus gabhaim buíochas libh as an gcuireadh. I am here as an individual and as a PhD student researching constitutional change in Ireland and identity. Brexit has ignited unprecedented constitutional debate across these islands and forced the Six Counties out of the European Union against their democratic will. Importantly, unification offers a direct path back to the EU, making this Seanad initiative both welcome and timely. As members are aware, the Good Friday Agreement which was overwhelmingly endorsed in concurrent referenda, retains the democratic legitimacy of the people of Ireland North and South. The agreement contains within it a mechanism to bring about Irish unification through a border poll. Critics of unification tell us that a Border poll would be too divisive but referendums by their very nature are divisive. Partition by its very definition is divisive.

Critics of unification tell us now is not the right time, yet the constitutional tectonic plates are clearly shifting. As Mr. McArt outlined, the recent census figures in the North provide the latest indicator of a constitutional trajectory that is gaining momentum. With the loss of a Protestant majority, the Northern polity has now lost its raison d'etreforever. Now is absolutely the right time to begin preparations for the border poll and righting the historic wrong of partition.

There is an onus on the Irish Government to begin detailed preparations. As I suggested in my submission, such preparations should be carried out by a fully resourced ministry for unification to bring forward detailed plans based on the latest data. It is also essential the widest possible views are considered in the planning process through a fully representative all-island citizens' assembly. The building of a new society must be based on robust human rights standards. Any new Ireland must be based on the principles of equality and fairness.

James Connolly viewed Irish history as three eras, which he metaphorically referred to as pictures. The first was pre-conquest Ireland. The second picture was Ireland under conquest. The third was "the re-conquest by the people of Ireland of their own country". We have a blank canvas before us and an opportunity to create a new country in a spirit of generosity and based on the principles of equality and fairness and a society that moves us all forward in confidence and hope. As Connolly continued:

The third picture must be drawn by each, as it suits his or her fancy, who wishes to visualise to the mind’s eye the complete reversal of all that was [constructed] in the second. As they construct that picture of the future, so they will shape their public actions.

May this session today advance the shaping of our collective public actions and the creation of that third picture.