Tom Clonan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank everyone for their contributions. I am very reassured to hear Professor John Doyle say this is something we must talk about because, in my experience as a journalist and lately as a politician, there are so many people who push back in the Republic and who will say, “Now is not the time to talk about this because you are going to frighten people.” To me, that is like saying to the cabin crew on an Aer Lingus flight, “Do not do the safety demonstration because you will frighten the passengers.” It is something we need to do.

I am mindful of my experience of conflict here, in the Middle East and in the former Yugoslavia. I imagine there are at least 1 million people on this island who are very frightened and very unsure, so how do we get them or encourage them to engage in this process, and how do we help and accelerate that engagement? It is a question for everybody.

Senator Ó Donnghaile got in ahead of me with one question. When I was in Bosnia at the end of that conflict, apart from everything else, one of the things that struck me was the amount that Europe threw at the former Yugoslavia as a peace project and that it has done since. I know Mr. Thumann was careful to point out that it is not strictly analogous but there are some people in the Republic who compare Ireland, North and South, with East and West Germany. I do not think it is analogous. Based on my experience, we are more analogous with Bosnia and the rise of ethnic nationalism. Sadly and tragically, following Brexit that rhetoric has increased and that narrative has regained traction. Again, the question would be: aside from the subvention and the debt, what is the likelihood of Europe and possibly the United States investing in whatever solution we arrive at?