Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agaibh a chairde. I thank the witnesses for their contributions. I have two questions. I will address the first one to Dr. McGuinness who wrote a paper with Dr. Bergin entitled The political economy of a Northern Ireland border poll, which looked at the economy in the North in terms of the potential costs or benefits of reunification. Dr. McGuinness touched on the issue of the so-called subvention in his opening remarks. Could he outline for us some of his general findings with respect to our economy and the associated benefits in the context of unification? Could he perhaps dispel some of the myths around the perceived golden goose of the subvention, about which we heard in previous meetings, and what it means in real economic terms to life in Northern Ireland?

My second question is in relation to the point raised by Professor O'Leary about the State not being ready for reunification. I would like to get the witnesses' views on this. This question is open to anyone who would like to answer it. During the week the Minister for Finance, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, conceded that the State needed to start preparing public finances for a unification scenario and that is indicative of where this debate is at. Professor O'Leary talked about the potential of a department for unification. If one was advising the Minister for Finance on how he should start, what is the first step he should take in relation to planning the public finances for that change?