Leo Varadkar says Irish reunification could be off the agenda for a long time if the border is voted in and lost, reports Breaking News.
The Taoiseach said the same had happened in places like Canada’s republican Australia and Quebec and said if it was held and failed it would cause further division in Northern Ireland.
He also said that although independence was still being discussed in Scotland after a vote against it in 2014, he questioned whether there was more likely to be support for constitutional change than before.
“I don’t think it’d be a good idea, certainly not at this point in time,” he said of a border poll, echoing similar comments he had made last summer. I think the difficulty with the border poll is it would certainly be divisive in Northern Ireland, but it would also probably be defeated in Northern Ireland,” reports Breaking News.
Responding to the comments, Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O’Neill said she would better use her energy to prepare for the possibility of a reunion and reiterated the party’s call for a citizens’ panel on the issue.
She said: “I think the Taoiseach should roll up his sleeves and get to work around the preparation and planning for constitutional change. Let’s have a really healthy, informed debate around what the future could look like, how it could be better for everybody who shares this island. I would encourage the Taoiseach to actually take a roll of responsibility in terms of planning for constitutional change, have the Citizens’ Assembly, let’s talk about the health service in the event of constitutional change, let’s talk about what education looks like, what the economy looks like, the benefits that it could bring, I think that’s where his energy should be better placed,” reports Breaking News.
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