I am deeply anxious about Brexit, especially in an Northern Irish context. The idea of removing ourselves from an outward looking union to focus on a smaller, newly inward looking union seems regressive. But here we are, and though it was a minority in NI who sought it, it is the majority who will endure. Some of my prime worries are the freedom of movement of good ands people in and around NI, especially at the border. We're used to proffering up passports and photo ID when travelling to GB, but stopping outside Newry on the way to Dublin has long since passed into uneasy memories. Many goods have an all island supply chain, which necessitates the many border crossings for the finished article. Some vague vapourware solutions have been proposed, but nothing with 14 months until Brexit day, we have no idea what form it will take, the extra red-tape which will come with it, and who will shoulder the burden of cost. Opportunities will arise, especially if NI's unique position as the only UK land border with the EU can be leveraged as a bridge between the UK and the EU, but this looks unlikely. Further to this, I think my greatest worry is that we become the inward looking nation I alluded to earlier, and we regress from an open, outward looking UK to a little England pining for the days gone by. The EU was far from perfect, but all solutions which have been proposed so far seem less than we have at the moment, and I fear we will end up with less still. Finally, I have voted many times, in many elections, UK, NI, EU, and referenda, but the result of the EU referendum was the single most visceral feeling of loss I've had after a democratic event, and I'm not sure it has gone away when we see the quagmire and lack of leadership which the nation seems to be in right now. p.

One of the most significant impacts of Brexit will be in relation to the Good Friday agreement, the joint institutions and north-south security cooperation. It is incumbent on all parties to thoroughly consider the wider implications of Brexit and the potential return to violent conflict should communities continue to feel disenfranchised, fearful for their future and as though their fundamental rights are being violated. Another huge issue is what will replace the European peace funds that currently benefit Northern Ireland and the wide range of funding available via the European Union that helps to fund valuable people to people initiatives, reconciliation efforts and community work in some of the most downtrodden and vulnerable areas. I think it’s vital the NIAC takes evidence on all these subjects and the potential emboldening of paramilitary organisations due to the vacuum of Brexit and the lack of investment in unionist and loyalist communities in particular.