Fianna Fáil remains committed to a united Ireland, Taoiseach says

During a speech at Dublin Castle on Thursday, the Taoiseach said that a border poll would not be part of his Government’s agenda for at least the next five years. Picture: Julien Behal.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said that Fianna Fáil remains committed to the idea of a united Ireland.

During a speech at Dublin Castle on Thursday, the Taoiseach said that a border poll would not be part of his Government’s agenda for at least the next five years.

Mr Martin said that his approach centred around "consensus and listening and engagement", and that he was "very much taken by the Seamus Mallon view" of the issue.

Mr Martin also stated that he had spoken with Mr Mallon before he passed away earlier this year and that Mr Mallon had told him that, “it was about time we started sharing this place together".

"There is no, I get the sense, ideological opposition to the idea of working north-south while respecting people's identity and constitutional perspectives," Mr Martin said Thursday.

However, speaking at the McGill Summer School this afternoon, the Taoiseach sought to re-affirm his party’s stance on a united Ireland, saying it remained a “core” policy.

"Fianna Fáil is committed to a united Ireland — that has always been its position," he said.

"But it didn’t stop Seán Lemass from meeting Terence O'Neill, or indeed Bertie Ahern from that historic breakthrough with Tony Blair.

"So I think it's a very false and frankly ill-informed position to adopt to suggest that putting forward a shared-island agenda within the context of the Good Friday Agreement is somehow straying from Fianna Fáil policy."