Ms Claire Hanna:

Apologies that I missed the last few minutes of the discussion. I really appreciated the presentation and just how comprehensive the research scoping has been. I say that as the proud owner of a big bound copy of the New Ireland Forum reports, which my hoarder father kept from the 1980s.

I enjoyed the ease with which I was able to browse through the papers and, obviously, the forum complements SDLP thinking in the years immediately after the Good Friday Agreement, the scope of North-South bodies that we tried to implement then, our thinking in and around 2007 and our North-South Makes Sense piece of work. I am glad to hear the rhyme with that and the practical issues around health, primary care, education and skills, and foreign direct investment. What is this project about if it is not about improving material well-being and outcomes for people across the island? We also must consider how to capitalise other research and pieces of work that people in civic society and elsewhere are doing. People will be aware of the SDLP's New Ireland Commission, which is picking up and running with some of these questions and hoping to spark off practical conversations.

It is possible that the committee has discussed this matter during the couple of contributions I missed, but I want to ask about the politics around the North-South Ministerial Council, the delivery of our shared island unit and what our guests think we can do to disarm any misapprehensions. Are there things that our guests think the Assembly can take forward to enable some of the practical projects? I am a representative in Westminster. With that in mind, are there ideas for which our guests would like us to advocate? I apologise again for missing the conversation and thank our guests for their presentations.