Ms Deirdre Hargey:

First, I thank all the Members again for sharing their personal stories and words of encouragement. I hope this stands us in good stead in the months and years to come of harnessing and developing the relationships. If Brexit has taught us anything, it is to really focus on having those relationships. Creating those relationships and building on the trust is fundamental because at the end, it will be to the benefit of all citizens right across the island.

To reflect, Brexit and the Border is a massive issue. It is on the tip of everyone's tongue every single day, in my city and right across the island. The Good Friday Agreement is fundamental in the sense that it was a referendum in which all people across the island voted overwhelming for that peace agreement. Growing up and living in a city that has been torn apart by political conflict and division, I can see the massive benefits of that agreement even in these short 20 years. As someone with a background of reconciliation work with former combatants and with communities that are segregated and divided, I am aware that the absence of armed conflict does not always result in peace and one must build the peace. The consequences of Brexit could unravel that. I do not say that lightly but there are massive concerns because the peace process is in its infancy. It is a young process, only 20 years in the making. The process is something that is held in international regard but we still need to nurture it and Brexit could have a massive detrimental impact on it.

As a city that is trying to move forward, and I know that is shared right across the island, this is a big concern, particularly for our young people in the time ahead. When we are looking to grow the economy, we do not want to chase away that young talent. We want to retain it, within our cities and within our communities as well.

I stress again the crucial role of the Irish Government and the Seanad in representing people, right across the North and across the island, but particularly being wedded to the Good Friday Agreement as a co-guarantor. I was thinking back when somebody spoke in terms of the image of a place. I thought back to the Carrickdale Hotel, just right at the Border, prior to the Good Friday Agreement, where I attended a team-building residential meeting with a number of women's organisations from right across the North. At that point, there were still army checkpoints in south Armagh. One could see them from the Carrickdale Hotel. I remember sitting in the hotel that night. Two residents from just beyond Dublin came up to stay in the hotel and when they realised there was a British army checkpoint or station post on the mountain, they checked out that night because they were so fearful of going near the North. We do not want to go back to those times. It has taken us 20 years to change the international image of the city and society and we do not want anything that will set us back.

I listened closely to the points regarding the Commonwealth of Nations. When one is starting to look at what a new Ireland could look like, all options must be on the table. All options need to be discussed. We need to look at what brings most of the people right across the island together, including those who are unionists particularly, nationalists and those who do not assign to anything. All those options need to be discussed and on the table.

In terms of retaining relationships post Brexit, it is crucial, no matter what the outcome, for us to focus and build on the relationships even more to ensure we are building strong foundations for whatever comes in the time ahead. I have met the mayors of both Dublin and Cork over recent months in this post, predominantly in respect of remembrance events at Islandbridge, as well as when the Pope came to Ireland. I agree with the comments that we need to move beyond those events, in terms of looking at social implications and economic connections of our cities and really starting to forge and build links around those key issues.

I also will meet the Lord Mayor of Dublin later today to build on the memorandum of understanding we have between our two cities. In respect of infrastructure, we are considering a high-speed rail connection between Belfast and Dublin. A feasibility study is being looked at, the local authorities that span the corridor between Belfast and Dublin have put funding into it and I would like to come back to give the Seanad updates. That is only one example of the growth and connection that we can look at.

We want to retain our connections with Europe as well. That is critical to us, as an island. I will be representing Belfast - other cities across the island will attend - at the Eurocities conference in Edinburgh at the end of this month where there will be a conversation on the role of cities in emerging social, political and economical life. Indeed, I would encourage any of the other cities across the island to attend that conference.I am always open to further engagement with them.

The issue of rights is something that is very much to the fore of why the institutions have not been re-established and has also seen thousands of people take to the streets in front of the building in which I sit, City Hall, in recent years, whether these rights are in language, LGBT, marriage equality, women or those around legacy and dealing with the past. These are not orange and green issues, which is critical. We cannot just pigeon hole them or sectarianise them into orange and green issues. Rights are international, they are universal and impact on all citizens. This is a conversation we need to have. The one reason I launched a mayor’s charter on rights in the city was to lift that debate. One critical factor in the Good Friday Agreement was the introduction of a bill of rights, but this is still yet to materialise. Had that been introduced, many of these issues that people in my city are out on the streets campaigning about would have been covered by this. I want to play my part in working with those organisations. I will launch it on 10 December which is Human Rights Day and the 70th anniversary of the signing of the charter. That will examine various issues around women and mental health, which was touched on, which is a massive issue. More people in the North have died by suicide since the Good Friday Agreement was signed than all those who died as a result of the political conflict. That is a vast issue that we must address.

Looking at gender, the British Government has not signed up to UN Resolution 1325, there is no action plan for the North around women’s issues or gender principles around female representation in politics, on bodies, mental health or community participation which is another thing that we need to encourage. The British Government needs to sign up to these. The Irish Government is implementing these action plans but there is a vacuum in the North where it is probably needed most. Any influence that can be brought to bear in this would be crucial.

I now turn to reconciliation. The Connaught Rangers is one area. I have done much work in Belfast City Council and in the city on the need for remembrance and addressing the decade of centenaries. Belfast City Council adopted a very positive approach. After the election in 2011 we agreed a set of principles because we knew that the decade of centenaries was coming. These included the Battle of the Somme, the 1916 Easter Rising, the signing of the Ulster Covenant, to name but a few, that could have heightened tensions or led to conflict on the streets of Belfast. I am glad to say that all the political parties in Belfast City Council, across the spectrum, signed up to a set of principles in which we could mark all those occasions and look at them in their wider context, looking at them through perspectives of gender and class and from an international perspective. Something that I never thought I would see in my lifetime was Belfast City Council hosting three civic dinners, one to mark the signing of the Ulster Covenant in 1912, and two dinners in 1916, one to mark the Easter Rising and another for the Battle of the Somme.

We are now moving to look at the memorabilia in the building and how it can be made more reflective to ensure that it looks at all backgrounds and narratives. The figure of Winifred Carney well reflects this, for instance, her story, and the complexity of her past is not black and white but more layered and complex. There is my chain of office which features the words "Erin go Bragh" whereas that of the Dublin Lord Mayor features King William. Some seem to think the two were switched but it illustrates the complexity. We have a deep and shared history and one which we all own and we must all own the future. Winifred Carney was an Irish republican from Belfast who was in the GPO in 1916 with James Connolly. Her future husband, George McBride, was a UVF volunteer, an Orangeman also from Belfast who, during 1916, was fighting with the British at the Battle of the Somme. They both returned to Belfast, where they were both trade union activists who worked with the city’s poor and they met, fell in love and were married. It is a beautiful story which goes to sum up the complexity of our past and also gives hope for the future.

Dialogue is the big factor in reconciliation. We need to get to know one another. I see this in Belfast when dealing with interface tension, where communities are at a street that divides the two communities. They do not know each other or the issues that impact the other. We have learned over time that dialogue, getting to know one another and the fact that I am hearing the Members’ perspective here today, and they are hearing mine, may widen our horizons and thoughts, and may push buttons or perceptions that we have. When we get to know each other, that is how we build trust, and that trust is how one can reach agreements and compromises. That is what is needed for the institutions. We need the institutions to be up and running but they must do so on solid foundations. We need to resolve the outstanding issues, particularly the implementation of those around the rights enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement. If that does not happen, people will be outside City Hall demanding their rights.

This is an opportunity. It is historic and as a city and a council we are keen to strengthen our engagements and connections with other towns and cities across the island. We want to look at the tourism and trade potential that lifts the prosperity of all our citizens with inclusive growth which is key. We want to look at infrastructure, roads and train networks. There is nothing to say that if this was achieved between Dublin and Belfast it could not be expanded to Derry to Cork and across to Galway or beyond. We want to look at innovation and research to ensure that when Ireland, as an island, puts itself forward internationally, that we are seen as a real hub of innovation and advanced research and how that has an impact on advanced manufacturing.

Tourism was referred to. There is massive potential in this area. As a city, we want to double our tourism spending by 2020. With Tourism Ireland we have gone to the market as one and went to China on a joint trade mission. The benefits have already been seen in the Chinese market. On educational links, we know that there are many students from Belfast who are studying in Dublin. If the infrastructure was dealt with, there would be nothing to stop them commuting between the two cities. That applies to education and to business.

There is great potential in culture, which could be in areas such as the European Capital of Culture or other cultural programmes, and deepen the understanding of what is offered across the island. We can look at opportunities for how we can collectively promote the island through our cultural offerings. Arts play a critical role in that. There is a campaign in the North called Arts Matter, which emphasises the impact of the arts and investment. This is something we want to build on because as well as its social and economic impact, it also has an impact on building reconciliation, the peace process and using art as a way of breaking down barriers or fears and perceptions.

The opportunity is there to use our cities to make those connections and look at the inclusion of the surrounding areas so that they also feel the benefit. We are doing this for our young people, for the next generation, for those who have talent and aspirations to ensure that they have a future and that it is on the island of Ireland.