Work starts on Irish unity plan

The Irish government has started the process of working out the implications of a united Ireland as a new poll showed 53% of voters in the occupied Six Counties support reunification, with 41% calling for it to take place immediately.

There is a growing urgency for steps towards reunification in the wake of recent polls which show the demand for unity is increasing, and at an accelerating rate.

The new LucidTalk poll shows the number of favour of reunification has risen in one year from 52% to 53%, and has risen to 60% for those aged under 35.

The latest poll was published as it emerged the Dublin government is formally considering the financial impact of a united Ireland for the first time. The special report on unity was completed some 15 months ago, according to the Sunday Times.

Politicians have so far focused economic and logistical issues, rather than more tangible steps towards the disbandment of the PSNI and the withdrawal of the other British Crown Forces.

The unity report, titled “A cross comparison of social welfare systems and costs in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland — an all-island perspective”, notes that key entitlements, including carer support, jobseeker, child benefits and pensions, are higher south of the border.

Disability supports are more generous in the north of Ireland, where 37% of people receive the payment, compared with 6% in the 26 Counties.

Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has this week backed what he said was a “strong economic case for unification”. He predicted the north’s economy will grow faster as part of a united Ireland.

“Pensions, welfare payments and public sector salaries would, over time, be equalised upwards (in the North), to match those in the Republic,” he wrote in the Sunday Times.

“This would mean more money circulating in the economy. Adopting the euro would mean an immediate fall in interest rates, giving a financial boost to mortgage holders and businesses with borrowing and those looking to expand.”

On Thursday, March 6, Taoiseach Micheál Martin and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will hold the first in a new series of annual summits, at which the issue of reunification is expected to be discussed.

They are due to agree a “wide-ranging” programme of new and enhanced strategic cooperation between Ireland and the Britain to be taken forward by both governments up to 2030.

Sinn Féin National Chairperson Declan Kearney welcomed Mr Varadkar’s comments.

“His remarks are further evidence of the overall momentum for constitutional change in Ireland, within Irish America, and throughout the global Irish diaspora,” he said.

“The former Taoiseach has correctly identified the attitudinal shifts taking place particularly in the north, where the unionist parties are now a political minority in the assembly, at Westminster and at local government.”

Mr Kearney said said that “while Leo Varadkar points out that reunification is not inevitable, he asserts that the case for constitutional change has to be made and proactively taken forward.

“That must be done by engaging with all of the public policy issues which impact on people’s lives,” he said

“The Irish government needs to listen carefully to the public discourse on Irish unity and develop a strategy to plan and prepare for constitutional change. The government should change its approach now and prioritise reunification as a political objective.”

Mr Kearney said the latest poll is “reflective of the ongoing and vibrant discussion taking place across our island and at every level of society.

“These conversations are growing and unstoppable.

Sinn Féin has called for a Citizens’ Assembly on constitutional change, a draft a green paper on Irish unity, and the appointment of a Minister for Reunification at the Department of An Taoiseach. It has also called for a week’s debate on unity at the Dublin parliament.

“As we approach the 30th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, the Irish government has a responsibility to ensure that the promise of the agreement to deliver a poll on Irish Unity is respected and implemented,” Mr Kearney said.

“The process of moving a United Ireland from an aspiration to a real political objective must start now. That position is now a shared consensus among the majority of political parties across the island.

“It is time to start planning and preparing for Irish Unity. The Irish government must use its position to ensure that a referendum on Irish Unity is held by the end of the decade.”

Urgent Appeal