Micheál Martin downplays chance of border poll in five years

It comes after Sinn Féin launched their proposals on Irish unity

Micheál Martin said that reconciliation on the island and uniting people was more important than the mechanisms involved.

There is unlikely to be a poll on Irish reunification in the next five years, according to the Tánaiste.

Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, a border poll should be called by the incumbent Northern Ireland Secretary when he or she believes there is evidence that public opinion in the region has shifted in favour of constitutional change.