SF: €20bn cost of UI is way off
Report ‘assumes no economic growth’
SINN Fein has disputed a report that suggests a United Ireland would cost taxpayers €20billion every year for 20 years.
The study, published by the Institute of International and European Affairs, is authored by the Economic and Social Research Institute’s John Fitzgerald and Dublin City University’s Professor Edgar Morgenroth.
They claim taxation would need to be increased by 25% and there would have to be a cut in expenditure.
The report also suggests basic unification costs after losing subventions from the British Government and other costs could run to nearly €11billion a year.
Speaking on RTE’S Today with Claire Byrne, Sinn Fein TD Padraig Mac Lochlainn said he disputed the methodology used to compile the report and said it does not account for economic growth in the North.
He added: “It is static analysis. You are accepting the subvention at face value. Prof John Doyle of DCU in recent times has written that the actual subvention is much less. It’s about €2.4billion.
“When you deduct the pensions, debt repayments, contributions to the Defence Forces of Britain and so on, it’s much less than the headline figure.
“Also, the report assumes there’ll be no economic growth in the North. We know that since Brexit there’s been substantial growth in the all-ireland economy.”
Mr Mac Lochlainn also argued that questions on matters such as what should happen to Northern Irish debt owed to Britain need to be discussed. He said: “All of the questions are why we have said there needs to be a Citizens’ Assembly, why there needs to be actual planning [or] a
White Paper from Government.
“Nobody assumes the context of Irish reunification where people on both sides of the border have voted for a United Ireland that the British Government just walks away from the pitch.
“There is a range of responsibilities they would continue to have, pensions being one
of them. There was a process here, the Good Friday Agreement. I believe that in the context of Irish reunification, there will continue to be a responsibility to the unionist people.
“I am very open to that as a republican, that the unionist population on the island will continue to have some sort of relationship with Britain.”
Mr Mac Lochlainn described the report as a “worst-case scenario”.
However, Prof Morgenroth said there would be a range of additional costs which were not included, such as changing road signs from miles per hour to kilometres per hour.