Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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I warmly welcome Dr. Boland and Dr. Fitzpatrick to this interesting discussion. It is the inaugural meeting of the committee's work on the perspectives of constitutional change. We are looking at the part we can play to facilitate the discussion and debate and the actions on the necessary planning for the future in terms of finance and economics, healthcare, environment, natural resources, education and skills, and human rights and equality.

I acknowledge the work of some of my colleagues on the constitutional future that has already been done in the Seanad under Senator Mark Daly. Senators Ó Donnghaile, Currie and McGreehan would also have been involved in all that work. What we are trying to do is build on that to answer some of these questions. I am delighted to welcome our guests to be our first witnesses on the pensions and social security part of it under the finance and economics section. I thank them for their most interesting submissions. I also thank their group, and the group of 15 others to which they referred. Indeed, I commend the initiative of getting that group together. They also referred to the other very relevant papers and the conventions and agreements that are in place. It has been invaluable. I have read it with interest. I will start with the final sentence in Dr. Boland's conclusion, because it is worth repeating, "The global resonance of the Irish story means that an All-Island social security system could become a world-leader, turning away from conditionality and sanctions to a more supportive system, a return to the original spirit of the welfare state." That is very important to start with.

First, I want to go to the area of pensions and the existing agreement between the British and Irish Governments in the convention on social security in which Britain agrees to honour pension entitlements of people living in the North and British people living in the South and, indeed, Irish people who live here and have worked in Britain and garnered occupational pensions. Is it Dr. Boland's understanding that were this to continue in the event of reunification, any calculations that are being done in the area could give the firm assumption that pensions would be taken care of?

That point often comes up in discussion. Can we responsibly assume that this would happen, when we are doing the other modelling that we need to do?