Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has stated that he does aspire to see a United Ireland but only by majority consensus, north and south, as outlined as the prerequisite for reunification in the Good Friday Agreement.
The Taoiseach referenced the constitution, Bunreacht Na hÉireann, which while it no longer claims territorial sovereignty over Northern Ireland still enshrines reunification as a national aspiration.
The comments come in the aftermath of difficult Brexit negotiations aimed at staving off any kind of hard border between the Republic and Northern Ireland.
Varadkar’s comments have drawn the ire of the DUP leader Arlene Foster who described them as aggressive and detrimental to community relations in the six counties.
The Taoiseach however, was quick to emphasise that he desires an “agreed Ireland” in the vision of former SDLP and nationalist civil rights leader John Hume.