Leo says no to unity poll on visit to Orange Order
LEO Varadkar has rejected calls for a referendum on a united Ireland and said if one did succeed it might not now be a good thing.
The Taoiseach was echoing comments by former DUP leader Peter Robinson, who said a ‘majority of one’ would be a ‘recipe for chaos’.
While on an historic visit to the Orange Order headquarters in East Belfast yesterday – the first such visit by a sitting leader from the Republic – Mr Varadkar said he didn’t think the time was right for a border poll.
He said that ‘a simple majority is enough’, but questioned whether it would be a ‘good thing’.
He said: ‘I don’t think the time is right or the conditions are right now for a poll. I think it would be very divisive, it would fall once again on traditional lines.
‘I don’t think we should be having one every three years, five years or seven years. The point he [Mr Robinson] was making was that decisions like that should be once in a generation.’
On Thursday, Mr Robinson said any future border poll could not be conducted on the basis of a simple majority.
And despite frequent unionist criticism of Mr Varadkar over his approach to Brexit, he was very warmly received by members of the Orange Order.
He posed beside a sign commemorating the 1690 Battle of the Boyne and paid respects at a memorial window dedicated to the 336 members of the organisation killed during the Troubles.
Orange Order grand secretary Mervyn Gibson told the Irish Daily Mail: ‘We have our views around the issues, Brexit and everything else, but we elect our politicians and we know that unionist politicians will represent those views.
‘So this wasn’t a day about politics. It was a day about him seeing our museum and our rich history – he recognised that. He referred to the Protestant history, he referred to the history of unionist people on these islands.
‘He wanted to know more about that, and that’s something good.’
He added: ‘For us, it’s not just ticking a box, that a personality is coming to visit us. It is very significant because we have members in the Republic and they are citizens of the Republic, even though they might be culturally British. We would say it’s more than just another visit.’ When the Taoiseach was asked about accusations by unionists that his Brexit views were aggressive tactics and bad manners, he replied: ‘My mother brought me up to have very good manners, so I hope people don’t think I am ill-mannerly at all.
‘When I come North I see myself as a neighbour, not as an invader, as the head of Government of another jurisdiction. I see this place, Northern Ireland, as a neighbouring jurisdiction, but also one in which there are almost a million people who are Irish citizens and we need to acknowledge the fact that it does make it a unique place. What I am trying to do on this trip is to reach out to all communities in Northern Ireland to understand their needs and perspectives better, and try to cement relationships that I think we can build on the in the future.’
After his visit, Mr Varadkar travelled to West Belfast to open the Féile An Phobail celebration.
He was greeted at the traditionally nationalist occasion by a small number of anti-abortion protesters, one brandishing a sign that read: ‘Varadkar doesn’t speak for the people in the North,’
Since the referendum, the issue of liberalising the North’s abortion laws has been a hot topic, and Mr Varadkar has signalled his support for a change to the legislation.
However, once inside, the Taoiseach was giving a rousing ovation for his declaration that citizens in the North should enjoy all the benefits enjoyed by those in the Republic and the UK.
‘I don’t think the time is right’