Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I found the discussion really interesting and informative. It has brought home the need to plan for the future. There have been important discussions in this committee about looking at an all Ireland health or social protection system. The shared island unit does important work but it has only been tinkering around the edges. There was a suggestion of a Department and a Green Paper to take this forward. As Senator Black and Ms Gildernew said, if a Border poll was called in the morning, the Government here is not prepared at all for that. The poll would be lost. It is really important that we start to plan.

Based on what the witnesses have shared so far, is it not true to state that, as the IIEA report indicates, Irish unity would result in an immediate major reduction in living standards in the South? The IIEA report states:

Even though Ireland has a much higher national income, funding the needs of the people of Northern Ireland in a united Ireland would put huge financial pressure on the people of Ireland, resulting in an immediate major reduction in their living standards.

Will the witnesses comment on that?