Taoiseach: Unionists must be part of ‘new Good Friday’

A proposed citizen’s assembly to consider a United Ireland will need the involvement of unionists, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said.

A group called Ireland’s Future recently published a letter signed by 1,000 prominent people seeking an assembly to discuss the possibility of a united Ireland. However, Mr Varadkar said that only when power-sharing arrangements are back up and running in the north would be it be right to examine any changes.

“I think it’s first steps first. If you look at the results of the recent Westminster elections in Northern Ireland and you take them with the European elections, local elections, and the [last Westminster] elections, you do see that there has been change. For the first time since the foundation of Northern Ireland, unionist parties do not have a majority any more. And they definitely don’t.

“It wasn’t a one-off: It’s four elections now, of different sorts. But also, parties that support a united Ireland don’t have a majority either.

“It’s still in and around 40% and that is well far short of the 50%-plus-one that you would need to win a border poll, and that’s why I don’t think a border poll is a good idea.

“It would be defeated and divisive. I don’t see who would gain from that sort of scenario. And you also see a growing middle-ground: more people willing to vote for Alliance and Greens and PBP and other non-sectarian parties.”

A renewed agreement for the North that included any possible constitutional changes would need the involvement of unionists, he added.

“Let’s try and heal some of the divisions and differences that exist in Northern Ireland and among us all. And when we have the institutions up and running properly, well then I think it is time to have a long hard look at the institutional arrangements and the constitutional arrangements.

“But it is important to do that right, and I think we should do that in a context where the Assembly and Executive are up and running, where the Good Friday Agreement is functioning as it was intended, and then see whether there’s a time for a change or reforms on foot of that, a sort of renewal of the Good Friday Agreement if you like.

“We have to learn from our history and we have to understand that there are a million people on this island who are British and are unionists and we need to respect that and make sure that they are part of the future and that they are accommodated and that they feel part of the future,” he said.

Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said British prime minister Boris Johnson will move back to “steadier” political ground once Brexit is resolved:

“I watched his performance with the G7. That was interesting. And he didn’t pander to Donald Trump. He took the European position religiously on climate change, on free trade, multilateral organisational rules.

“That was very interesting, and probably suggests that he may want to get back on to steadier ground once the Brexit issue is dealt with.”