Sir, – Brian Callanan (Letters, Oct 26th) endorses Northern Ireland Minister Steve Baker’s call for a “super majority” of 60 per cent to be required for a united Ireland, as a means of ensuring consensus for any constitutional change.
The Good Friday agreement provides for a simple majority as the determinant of such change.
The agreement was endorsed by 71.12 per cent of the population of Northern Ireland by referendum in 1998, effectively establishing a super majority in favour of the principle of a simple majority applying to a Border poll.
This pragmatic compromise endorses another key principle of the agreement – parity of esteem.
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Should a future Border poll find support for a united Ireland exceeds 40 per cent, then a super majority would have failed to have been achieved for the status quo.
This would imply one constitutional arrangement requires a super majority, while the other doesn’t.
A simple majority, as democratically endorsed, is the fairest way to determine the issue. – Yours, etc,
STEPHEN WALL,
Rialto,
Dublin 8
