H.E. Dr. Eamonn McKee:

He travelled a long and complicated journey, let us put it that way. His lasting contribution to Canada was the protection of minority rights because he was appalled at direct rule in Ireland and its consequences which included the Famine and he was also appalled at the development of society in the United States. A lasting legacy for Thomas D'Arcy McGee was the protection of minority rights within Canada. If we were to apply the Canadian model to Ireland, the closest we would get would be provincial parliaments and then a federal Government in Dublin.

On the Good Friday Agreement as a living document, the effort of the Good Friday Agreement was to democratically empower the people of Northern Ireland, while recognising the all-island nature of Ireland through North-South and so I think we have to cue to that attempt to make sure the implementation of the agreement to the greatest extent possible is democratic and empowering. How we do that is the critical issue of our time because of the current unionist position in terms of the restoration of the institutions.

There is certainly unfinished business in the Good Friday Agreement. I do not think anyone would argue that Northern Ireland as it exists today reflects the ambitions we have and that are set out in the Good Friday Agreement.

Reference was made to the British. The British Government certainly has its own interests. It is not a disinterested party. We saw that starkly in the case of Pat Finucane where it abolished the tribunals of inquiry, rather than have an inquiry into the circumstances of his assassination. We also saw that Britain has its own interests throughout the Saville inquiry and most recently with Brexit. That is the nature of its system.

It is important to have a debate on the economic model and the economics of this because sometimes we assume identity is fixed. I suspect identity is much more flexible and that it is often based on where people think their interests and those of their families and children lie in the future as regards their economic betterment. We can see this in various opinion polls. For example, during the Celtic tiger years support for a united Ireland within Northern Ireland was higher than it was during the financial crisis. People make those calculations. It is also a good time to look at macroeconomic models. In the South we are highly dependent on foreign direct investment, which is a dynamic area. The support and empowerment of indigenous sectors need to be looked at on both sides of the Border. Certainly, economic models are an important part of this debate.

On the Hume-Adams dialogues, we have to go back to the circumstances. The vitriol directed at John Hume was quite astonishing for a man who was absolutely dedicated to peace and who had a strategic insight that if there was going to be peace in Ireland, it was not going to happen by building the middle ground outwards. It was going to have to be an inclusive process. Looking at the build-up to the Good Friday Agreement, including the negotiations, the one hallmark of it was inclusivity. We were ensuring everything was on the table. For example, during the negotiations, the Women's Coalition had a licence in a way to go around to all the different political parties and take stock of their views and whether anyone was feeling isolated or not included. That was an important role. Inclusivity has always been a key principle and it is something we must be guided by in the debate around a united Ireland.

In an article in the Dublin Review of Booksthat has just issued, the writer states that, for unionists, listening to a discussion of a united Ireland is similar to being at their own funeral arrangements. We must be aware of that too and bear that sensitivity in mind. However, equally, we must have this conversation because if we do not, we will be surprised by events. One unionist put a scenario to me which is that in the event of a move towards a united Ireland, unionists will end up in a situation of exodus and enclave and a new border will be drawn where the burning tyres are. That is why we must have this debate but in an inclusive way in order that there are no surprises.