Ms Liz O'Donnell:

I do not really mind where it happens. It is just that it should not be presented as imminent. I am talking about political unity, that is, a border poll with a view to political unity. I think people in Northern Ireland are not ready for that. Many people in the South are not ready for it either, if one looks at recent research. It is very important that the ground work is done. That is where the shared island initiative is good, because it is actually doing and funding stuff that is useful, co-operative and of mutual benefit and should not be frightening. It should not be frightening to anybody. I always remember the unionist party, in the North-South discussions, did not have a particular horror of it, so long as it was not politically motivated. The North-South institutions did not mind that, so long as it was mutually beneficial, non-antagonistic, and not too aggressively political. They did not mind as long as there was co-operation based on mutual benefit.