Mr. Niall Murphy:

Senator Ó Donnghaile has raised several issues and I will address them one by one. The recent motion that included the amendment was exceptionally welcome and was perhaps the first time the concept of a citizens' assembly was publicly validated by a political motion. I am wholly cognisant of the fact there is an element of symbolism to this but it must be noted it is indicative of a political reality and responsive to the growing momentum. There is a wider, deeper and more engaged conversation going on with regard to our collective future.

There is more that can be done. The Irish Government, in our respectful analysis, should publish a Green Paper on Irish unity that identifies steps and measures to inform a successful transition to a single island unitary state. There should be an Oireachtas joint committee on Irish reunification with the task of outlining, driving, monitoring and reviewing the transition towards Irish unity. We had hoped the incumbent Taoiseach might have appointed a dedicated Minister of State with specific responsibility for developing strategies to advance Irish unity.

The South Korean Administration has a Ministry dedicated to the potential for reunification. Scotland established a constitutional unit within government to do this. The opportunities and challenges for Scottish independence were previously outlined in a 670 page document called Scotland's Future. People sometimes wonder where we got our name. That outlined the Scottish Government's vision of how Scotland could and would transition towards independence. That was in 2013. It set out the implications of independence across monetary, fiscal, industrial and social policy and set out its position with regard to constitutional issues and defence policy. There are explicit nuts and bolts that need to be considered in the discharge of this issue. Whereas the motion was obviously welcome, it should be considered as a starting point to a long line of governmental work which needs to be undertaken.

With regard to presidential voting rights, I recall attending the launch of Votes for Irish Citizens Abroad, VICA, in EPIC. I was inspired by the ambition and the articulate nature of the advocates who wanted to take on responsibility for being the persuasive voice for that referendum. That referendum will happen and I am confident that it will pass. I do not note any political party in the South that objects to it and all of us have family all over the world.

My father is from Blackwatertown on the border of Armagh and Tyrone. I see Michelle Gildernew, who will understand the tension between Armagh and Tyrone. He was the youngest of 12 and all of his older brothers and sisters had to emigrate, so I have as many cousins in America as I do in England, and more than I have in Ireland. They are proud of their Irish heritage and would welcome the opportunity to be engaged in the election of our next President. I am personally aware of the necessity of Covid restrictions. I spent 17 days on a ventilator last March and April. I almost died on 30 March. I absolutely understand and will always respect the need to be cautious but that does not inhibit the preparation for that referendum. We are hopefully emerging from the worst days of this pandemic. Brighter days are literally and metaphorically ahead of us. Now is a responsible time to begin to undertake the preparation for that referendum, which I hope, trust and expect should pass with gusto.