Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On the note, I remember reading a comment by a professor who did research that policy neglect seldom goes unpunished. This is true of all policy no matter what the issue is. I thank the ESRI for its input.

We will now move on to the ARINS project. This is a joint project with the Royal Irish Academy. It is an all-island body and includes the Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies at Notre Dame's Keough School of Global Affairs, which is a research institute of international standing. It seeks to engage experts across the spectrum on disciplines and perspectives of all points of view. Professor John Doyle of DCU and ARINS will make an introductory statement and give a brief summary of the DCU submission to the public consultation.

Professor Jane Suiter from DCU will make an opening statement on the role of citizens’ assemblies. Professor Oran Doyle from Trinity College Dublin will make an opening statement on the franchise in future referendums. We then have Professor Joanne McEvoy from Aberdeen University, who will make an opening statement on how to maximise inclusion in the constitution discussion. At this point, I will bring in Mr. Gunther Thurmann, who is the senior economist at the Germany desk of the International Monetary Fund during German reunification. We are running over time and Mr. Thurmann has to get a flight. We all know the challenges of Dublin Airport, which is another policy that we might look at, but not in this particular committee at this particular time.

I call Professor John Doyle to make the opening remarks for Analysing and Researching Ireland, North and South, ARINS.