Taoiseach says there will be no border poll before 2030

Micheál Martin said more work must be done to unite the whole island before a united Ireland referendum is held

Taoiseach Micheál Martin criticised Sinn Féin who he said blew 'hot and cold on the border poll' in the last decade. Picture: Noel Sweeney/PA

There will be no poll on Irish unity before 2030, the Taoiseach has said, adding that more work is needed to unite people on the island before partition is ended.

Sinn Féin has been pushing the Government in recent weeks to prepare for a border poll within the next five years. 

The issue of Irish unity will also feature in the forthcoming presidential election but, speaking in New York, Micheál Martin told the Irish Examiner it will not happen in the lifetime of this administration.

Border poll in Good Friday Agreement

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 public opinion in the region has shifted in favour of constitutional change.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin and GAA president Jarlath Burns with the Artane Band before Sunday's NFL American football game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Minnesota Vikings at Croke Park. Picture: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Successive British governments have consistently declined to specify publicly what criteria will be applied when measuring public sentiment on the issue.

Mr Martin said more work is needed to unite people on the island of Ireland before partition is ended.

He said he believes Sinn Féin has followed polling to decide the issue’s importance.

“I’ve watched Sinn Féin over the last decade blow hot and cold on the border poll,” he said. 

They kind of invented it after Brexit. 

"I said at the time they were putting petrol on the fire. We had to deal with Brexit first and its implications for Ireland.

“And then, when assembly elections came along, they downgraded the border poll because they did their own opinion polls and focus groups, and they said it’s not travelling.

“If you notice during the assembly elections, the border poll receded in language and recedes in different electoral cycles and then, once elections are over, they’re back on the border poll.

“Sinn Féin condemned everybody, criticised us for not having a blueprint.

Where’s Sinn Féin’s blueprint? Why is Sinn Féin always saying somebody else has to write the blueprint? 

Sinn Féin had made plans for a united Ireland part of its 2024 general election campaign which would see MPs from the North given speaking rights in the Oireachtas.

The party says it would “commence planning for and actively working toward the holding, by the end of this decade, of the referendums on Irish reunification provided for in the Good Friday Agreement”.

Unity 'in the Wolfe Tone framework'

However, Mr Martin said he does not foresee a poll happening under his government or shortly after.

“I don’t like the word ‘border poll’ in itself,” said the Taoiseach. “I believe it makes logical sense that we would have unity in the country, and that we would unite the people of Ireland.

But it’s in the Wolfe Tone framework of uniting 'Protestant, Catholic, and dissenter'. 

"But you can add to that the new Irish — Northern Ireland, demographically, is changing as well.”

Presidential candidates quizzed about unity

The question of Irish unity has surfaced during the presidential election campaign.

Left-wing Independent Catherine Connolly, who is backed by Sinn Féin, Labour, the Social Democrats, and other opposition parties, said she would not call for a border poll in the next decade.

Fine Gael candidate Heather Humphreys, a Presbyterian, said she would now vote for Irish unity and that she is an example to unionists in Northern Ireland of Irish “tolerance and inclusivity". 

Canada's prime minister Mark Carney greeting Micheál Martin on Thursday during the Taoiseach's visit to Ottawa. Picture: Colleen Anne/GIS

Fianna Fáil candidate Jim Gavin said the issue of a border poll is a matter for the government of the day.

“I’m very clear,” he said. “I was probably one of the few politicians who was in the dialogue [for the Good Friday Agreement] left. The Good Friday Agreement has to fulfill its potential, and there’s more to be done. The legacy was only agreed last week.”

“I hope Sinn Féin get on board with this, because this is an opportunity with this British government that may not arise again with a future British government.”

Mr Martin said the Shared Island Unit within his department was an important tool in disbursing funds on projects to unite people in both Ireland and the North.

“My view is reconciliation of people and unity of people that will have ultimately different political manifestations. But I do see an evolutionary approach.”