Frances Black (Independent)
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I thank the committee for allowing me to contribute first. Unfortunately, I must leave around 10.40 a.m. to attend a meeting of another committee of which I am Chair. I thank Mr. Murphy for his presentation. It is difficult to speak on one's own and not have the support of Ms Harmon. It is a pity we lost her due to technology problems.

I work with Ireland's Future and Mr. Murphy and love the vital work that they do. The group represents civil society whose voice needs to be heard. I will never forget my first time in Belfast when I attended the Beyond Brexit event. It was unbelievable. The energy I felt in the room that day and the fears felt by people about what was going to happen with Brexit rang a bell for me. Ireland's Future developed from that event, which was held on the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. There were many speakers, including the then Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Simon Coveney. I will never forget the panel of speakers who spoke on that day. One of the panel, a man from the unionist community, said that nobody had contacted him to have a conversation about what new constitutional change would look like. He was, he said, open to that conversation.

I remember another occasion when I visited Belfast as a member of the committee on Brexit. As members who were on that committee will remember, we met various people, including representatives of cross-community groups and the farming community, who expressed concern about the impact of Brexit on their business.

There was so much fear from people regarding Brexit. Ireland's Future plays an important role in that regard.

I want to thank Mr. Murphy for attending. I have one or two questions I want to ask him. How would he see Ireland's Future working alongside the Irish Government's shared island unit? How does Mr. Murphy see this committee supporting what he is doing or what would he like us to do? How does he see this best going forward?

I want to highlight the Warm House For All event. It was one of the most inspiring and informational events I have ever seen of all of the events that Ireland's Future has run. It was so powerful. How can we engage with the 20% of the people in the North who are classified as undecided and also with unionist communities?