‘There’ll be no poll on Irish unity’
Taoiseach rejects referendum call from Sinn Féin as 56% of North’s electorate votes to remain in EU
ENDA Kenny has rejected calls for a referendum on Irish unity following yesterday’s Brexit vote.
Sinn Féin says a poll is now needed given that 56% of people in Northern Ireland had voted to remain in the EU.
But the Taoiseach dismissed the idea and said: ‘In regard to a border poll, obviously that is contained in the Good Friday Agreement provided the secretary of state of the day considers there would be a serious movement of a majority of people to want to have a situation where they would join the Republic.
‘There is no such evidence. There are much more serious issues to deal with in the immediate term and that is where our focus is.’
However, Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, said the fact that there had been such a large Remain vote in the North justified a vote on whether the North should join the South. While the DUP had called for a Leave vote, all the other Northern parties, including the Ulster Unionist Party, campaigned for a Remain vote.
Mr McGuinness said: ‘We do believe that there is now against the backdrop of this decision, which has been so detrimental to everybody on this island, [the need] for a border poll.’
He added: ‘For us to be dragged out of the EU against our will is absolutely unacceptable.
‘We have been calling for a border poll prior to this referendum.
‘The outcome absolutely strengthens our argument – given that the democratically expressed wishes of the people of the North are going to be effectively ignored by a negotiation which will take place in all probability with a new British prime minister.
‘And, that’s the other point in this – who will that be?’
But Northern Ireland Secretary of State Theresa Villiers ruled out any possibility of a border poll.
Ms Villiers said that while such a poll could be held, the circumstances must be correct.
She said: ‘The Good Friday Agreement is very clear that the circumstances where the secretary of state is required to have a border poll is where there is reason to believe there would be a majority support for a united Ireland.’
She added: ‘There is nothing to indicate that in any of the opinion surveys that have taken place.
‘Again and again they demonstrate that a significant majority of people in Northern Ireland are content with the political settlement established under the Belfast Agreement and Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom,’ she added.
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin branded the Sinn Féin border poll call a distraction.
But he added that the Northern Ireland vote to remain, while England voted to leave, was ‘reaffirming our fundamental view that Irish unity is the best way forward for the future.’
Mr Martin added that he was not saying that in any immediate context, nor from a point of view of ‘territorial aggrandisement.’
It would be a matter of persuasion, over time to ‘convince unionists that they would be better off in a united Ireland’, he said.
In that light, the Sinn Féin call was a distraction, he said, adding that calls for a border poll were common in recent years and appeared to be ‘a Sinn Féin mantra’.
He said, however, that Fianna Fáil was ‘very mindful that this was a matter for the people of Northern Ireland and Britain.
‘I also think the Irish people, on balance, got it right [in voting to remain].’
But Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said that he believed there was ‘a democratic imperative for a border poll’ and said: ‘The Irish government should support this.’
Mr Adams said: ‘There is an onus on the British government to respect the democratic wishes of the people of the North.
‘The Taoiseach has to think nationally in a real sense. The Irish government needs an all-island, all-Ireland view.
‘The referendum result will have very profound effects for all of us on this island. There are real worries it will have an adverse impact on the two economies on this island.
‘This will have serious consequences for jobs and investment and for families and communities.’
Mr Adams continued: ‘The Brexit decision also presents real concerns in respect of its likely detrimental impact on the Good Friday Agreement and the Human Rights Act.
‘The Tory government is already committed to the repeal of the Human Rights Act,’ he added.
However, Fianna Fáil spokesman on North-South Bodies and Cross Border Cooperation Declan Breathnach joined his party leader and said last night that Sinn Féin’s call for a border poll was ‘nothing more than political opportunism.’
He said: ‘While the result is very regrettable, it has to be respected.
‘As an island, we must now stand united so that we can work to address the challenges that this result poses for our people.
‘I believe that Sinn Féin is being opportunistic calling for a border poll now. This is a time for cool, calm heads not kneejerk reactions.’
‘Border poll call is a distraction’