Niall Ó Donnghaile (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is a perfectly legitimate and democratic aspiration, and one that is laid out in the Good Friday Agreement, which the Senator lauded, and Bunreacht na hÉireann, but sin scéal eile. I hope that we will have that debate on another day.

I wish to focus on citizens' rights in a post-Brexit scenario. I will raise a number of questions as well as a number of points in that regard. Where is annexe 1, the list of rights that the protocol stated would be produced? Will that list be signed off before the June Council meeting? I recognise that the Tánaiste and the EU have stated that they are in the midst of a negotiation but rights are a fundamental issue. People from the agricultural and business communities are concerned about what Brexit and any re-emergence of a border would have on their lives, but there are also fears about how people will access justice, their rights as workers, the European courts and their rights as Irish and EU citizens trapped against their will in a post-Brexit North.

In asking my questions, the Tánaiste will appreciate that my consistent position has not been to be combative or confrontational with him, but to ask them from a sincere and deep-rooted place, given the conversations and engagements that I have been having with people. To be fair to him, the Tánaiste has also had such engagements. Civic nationalism has certainly mobilised around the rights issue and has called on him and the Taoiseach to ensure that our rights as Irish citizens are fully protected as we move forward and that they do not become a high-wire act or 11th hour issue in the negotiations. They must be well resolved, well assured and well set in legal and political contexts before we move closer to the 11th hour. I also note and welcome the response from people within civic unionism who are keen to have that engagement with their nationalist counterparts and the Irish Government.

The Taoiseach stated that never again would an Irish Government abandon citizens North of the Border. With respect, it is time to put that assertion into action. I would be keen to hear from the Tánaiste where we stand in terms of annexe 1 and the list of rights, which we were told would be produced. When will it be produced?

The Tánaiste might not remember it, as he is a busy man, in which case I will give him a by-ball. At the same Good Friday Agreement committee meeting five months ago, I put to him a suggestion - he said he was open to it and would engage with his officials - about a dedicated citizenship hub, namely, a facility or outlet for citizens in the North to have a direct interface with the Irish Government and engage with it on rights issues, agricultural issues or, as Senator Black referenced, the rights and entitlements of students under various programmes. One of the main questions I am asked by pupils when I visit schools with my colleague, Ms Martina Anderson, MEP, is whether they will be able to attend Trinity or study Irish at NUI Galway. There is uncertainty about these matters. I can answer up to a point but, given his exchanges and engagements in the North, the Tánaiste appreciates the need for a dedicated resource that is open to citizens in order that a conduit through which to engage with the Irish Government and EU structures, the protection of rights and the ability to avail of information are afforded to us.Mar fhocal scoir, I will finish by raising the issue of annexe 1. When will that be produced? The issue cannot be prolonged until the 11th hour. Moreover, does the Tánaiste have any feedback on the citizenship hub?