“Common ground is just that – the soil we tread on that gently holds us together,” he said.
The conference was hosted by the new Shared Island Unit set up by the government to help maintain all-island relations post-Brexit.
Speakers, including scientists, regulators and environmental activists, said while there were strong links and shared projects between universities and environmental groups north and south, official policy was not always so closely aligned.
They raised concerns around the Brexit fall-out and what the implications may be for a Northern Ireland no longer bound by EU environmental directives or the biodiversity clauses in the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy.
As motivational messages go, the pictures on the wall at Irish Water’s Ringsend wastewater treatment plant are more taunting than encouraging.
Water quality in Dublin Bay will be good enough for Blue Flag status, declares one over a vista of sparkling sea meeting azure sky.
Dollymount, Sandymount and Merrion strands will meet all EU bathing standards, vows another. Dublin’s finest amenity, declares a third with a bird s-eye view of the plant itself.
Within two years of the plant’s completion in 2005, it was overloaded. The beaches have often been subject to swimming bans, Merrion has officially been de-designated a bathing area and, around the bay, blue flags remain elusive.