Dr. Stephen Farry:

I thank the committee for its invitation to give evidence today. Before I start, I must place on the record my party's sympathies and condolences to the families and the wider community in Creeslough, County Donegal, for what is an utterly unthinkable tragedy. I am conscious that we are a week on from that absolutely terrible event.

Members will hopefully have seen our written submission, which Mr. Campbell very kindly drafted for us. I will not go through it line by line but I will draw a few points to the committee's attention at the start. The first thing to focus on is the Alliance Party approach to this issue, which, at times, has been the subject of some controversy, but it really should not be. We recognise that there are multiple discussions happening at present over the future of the United Kingdom, the future of the island of Ireland, and the future of the these islands collectively. We are happy to take part in constructive dialogue and evidence-based debate on a without-prejudice basis.

Our party is not defined around the constitutional question. We are potentially unique in that regard among the main parties in Northern Ireland. That is a very deliberate choice on our behalf because we want to be a home where people with different constitutional aspirations can be part of the party and support the party. We have some members who are pro-UK and pro-union. We have people who are already pro a united Ireland. We have many people, including myself and Mr. Campbell, who are open-minded on the issue. It is fair to say that most Alliance Party activists are open-minded on the constitutional question.

We choose to define ourselves around the mission of building a shared and integrated society for the Northern Ireland society as it is today. That mission will still apply whether we are talking about the constitutional status quo or some constitutional change down the line. Not every format will suit us in that respect. Anything where we are explicitly or implicitly seen as giving endorsement to either outcome at this stage is probably not something we can take part in. We will consider a Border poll if and when one is called. Our party council will consider whether to give party members a free vote on the matter or whether we will campaign on a particular outcome. At this stage, we cannot take position on that and particularly at an early stage in the debate, without knowing what the proposition will be and not knowing what the circumstances will be at the time of any Border poll being called and taking place.

We are extremely mindful of the lessons from Brexit and the importance of any question being properly fleshed out in order that people know what they are voting on. In that sense, we are happy to engage in debate around what shape a future proposition would look like. At times, we will make suggestions and at times we may well be critical and we may well challenge some of the propositions. Hopefully, however, this will lead to a more rounded outcome in that regard.

It is also important to say that a Border poll will be very challenging for Northern Ireland. There is a diversity of views and, obviously, this has defined our politics for the best part of a century in Northern Ireland. Any constitutional change will bring some degree of tension. It is important that we are mindful of how any process, if it is undertaken, is managed and how that transition is taken forward.

We have moved from a very benign situation under the Good Friday Agreement where we had those interlocking relationships. We have had power-sharing inside of Northern Ireland. We had open borders and we have had good relationships between the British and Irish Governments. Today, sadly, we are in a much more uncertain position post Brexit with the potential of a border somewhere due to the consequences of Brexit. We are seeing British-Irish relations in a relatively poor state. That said, we are encouraged by the slight thawing we have seen over recent weeks, which is very welcome. However, we do not have functioning institutions currently. It is less than desirable to see change happening in a vacuum, which would be much for more polarising. We appreciate that this might be unavoidable in due course.

It is also important to recognise that there is a range of push and pull factors. We must set out that the non-aligned voting base in Northern Ireland will be influenced quite heavily by a range of practical issues, which are not essentially ideological around a constitutional aspiration. There will be things that will push in different directions and they may well change over time. What happens with regard to governance in the UK if, for example, we move from a hard right Conservative Government to perhaps a Labour Government or some type of coalition Government? That may well soften people's attitudes. Equally, there may be some type of outcome around Brexit, either a softening of Brexit or the Protocol being allowed to settle down and work. This might also slow down the impetus for change. Obviously, in that context Brexit has caused so much chaos in Northern Ireland and in the UK it has actually driven a lot of people who were fairly comfortable with the status quoto become much more open-minded on that issue.

The final thing I want to say is that we are keen to see this debate moving towards detailed consideration of a lot of practical questions. We are mindful of a long list, which we will not go through in terms of the paper, but they can be broken down into: issues for the future of institutions and other structures on the islands; what will happen around the public finances; what will happen in the development of an all-island economy; how we will interact with Great Britain; and issues around the health service and other public services. These are all issues that the people I represent would be very keen to know the answers on. These will heavily influence how people will vote in any future Border poll.

I am happy to conclude now and I am very keen to address any questions from members of the committee.