Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Wednesday, 23 June 2021
Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs
Protocol on Ireland and Northern Ireland: Representatives from the House of Lords Sub-Committee on the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland
Baroness O'Loan:
I suspect people know that I was the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland. I also served on the House of Lords subcommittee on justice and institutions for some years. An SPS deal is just one deal that needs to be made in the context of the many deals that are necessary in this journey we are all on. We have vital common social and trade interests across the island of Ireland. While it is not all about veterinary issues, the SPS issues will deal with about 80% of the problems we currently have. With goodwill and trust on both sides - by which I mean the European Union, not Ireland, and the United Kingdom - we will move there because it is in both our interests to do so.
As I did not hear the second question, I had better withdraw now. I appreciate the opportunity to speak and I will come in again