Ms Emma Sheerin:

The question the Chairman asked about how much of our time is taken up by Brexit and conversations about Brexit goes to the core of governance in the North. The Chairman spoke about Brexit and our removal from the EU as a distraction. To me, Brexit exposes the reality of partition and of government in the North, in that we at all times are dependent on what another parliament does. Stormont, as a structure, has no tax-raising powers or fiscal levers and depends on Westminster to give it a budget. We do not have say over how many years that budget will be for, so we are working on a year-to-year basis. The system we have is one of mandatory coalition.

Mr. McGrath made reference to his and our frustration when one puts a question into the Executive Office, which is a joint ministerial office. This morning's meeting and political unionism's approach to something as simple as this committee exposes what it is like to work with the DUP daily. One cannot get an answer to a question because their Minister cannot get agreement in an office to sign off on an answer to a question. New Decade, New Approach contains a list of commitments that still have not been delivered because the DUP is blocking them. North-South Ministerial Council meetings cannot go ahead because the DUP is blocking them. For these meetings of the Oireachtas joint committee, the DUP is not at the table.

Brexit was a decision by the English and, to a lesser extent, Welsh people which has been imposed upon the island of Ireland with massive implications for all people North and South, particularly those living in the North. The DUP backed it and when there is an issue it does not like regarding the protocol, it does not engage. It does not smooth or iron out the problems. It sticks its head in the sand. Government in the North is like that.

On delivery for projects on the ground, I was out with a group from a local school in a rural area, comprising 85 pupils from 50 families, this morning. They cannot get money to paint the front of their school because we have had 12 years of Tory austerity and our budget has been cut year on year. All these things are interlinked. None of them happens in a vacuum and none can be looked at in isolation.

Brexit has speeded up the conversation about Irish unity but it exposes the folly of partition, that there are six counties in Ireland where the people are reliant on what people in another country are doing. Our future is dictated by voters in Manchester, Brighton and Bristol. That is how frustrating it is. I am a mid-Ulster representative in a rural area and I see people being impacted by decisions made far removed from them. It is incredibly frustrating but that is where we are at.

I ended my last contribution on a positive note and this is much more negative but that is the reality of the situation. Brexit is speeding up the unity conversation and that is what I want us to see. Going forward, how can we build a future for everyone? I would like to see unionism take part in this conversation, to be there and say it wants to see X, Y and Z and we will ask how we can work together to deliver for everybody.