Unification of Ireland 'would benefit economies North and South', claims international study

Political and economic unification of Ireland could potentially deliver a €35.6bn boost in GDP for the island in the first eight years - according to a new study launched today.

The research found that unifying both economies could bring a sizeable boost to the economy in the North with a more modest boost in the Republic.

Dr Kurt Hubner, professor at the University of British Columbia in Canada and author of the Modeling Irish Unification' study, said that the fact the North would benefit more from such a union is not surprising.

"The Republic of Ireland would benefit quite a lot, but the benefits would be mainly accrued by Northern Ireland," he said.

"And that's not really a surprise, because if you compare the two entities, then Northern Ireland is obviously the less developed economy.

"It is more or less confirmed across the world that the less developed entities would benefit the most, in absolute terms, as well as in relative terms."