What Sinn Fein president said in Belfast on Monday... and outside Leinster House yesterday

Monday in Belfast

The obvious thing would be to say ‘well, have the border poll and remove the border, if the border is the problem, simply take it away’ — and there is a certain logic to that.

I am very, very conscious that you can’t come at this issue in that simplistic way.

It’s very important when we come to addressing the issue of partition we do it in the best possible climate and we do it in a way that maximises consent.

It is not my preferred option or our preferred option that we deal with the issue of Irish unity in a climate that is unsteady or unstable or chaotic, in other words in the context of a crash Brexit or a very hard Brexit.

I would prefer, it is my strong preference, that we have sequencing that firstly delivers a level of economic and social certainty, in as much we can be certain, and stability and from that base we then continue the conversation about Irish unity.”

The very nature of Brexit and the blatant disregard shown to Ireland by the Tory government underscores the imperative for Irish Unity. It emphasises the need for the people, north and south, to have their say on the constitutional question and the future of this island.

A decision to exit the European Union was endorsed in England and Wales. It was rejected by the people of the North of Ireland and yet, it is to be imposed on them as though they didn’t vote at all. This again

Yesterday in Dublin

highlights the democratic deficit of the union and the utter failure of partition. Clearly, the chaos and prospect of a crash Tory Brexit, and the very real difficulties this will create in the lives of ordinary people, does not provide the best environment for a referendum on Irish Unity.

We want to have that campaign in an atmosphere of calm, respect and in a climate conducive to constructive debate and not in the shadow of Tory game-playing. However, and I have already put this to Theresa May, if the Tories continue to pursue a negotiation stance that can only led to a crash Brexit, the British Government will have to put the question on Irish Unity to the people in a referendum.

Irish Unity makes sense. It has always made sense. Brexit is simply the latest political mess to underline that fact. The appetite for the Unity debate is growing every day. Sinn Fein wants to see a referendum as soon as possible. We want to build maximum consensus for unity and win that referendum.”