Sinn Féin unity ads in US ‘incredible’ and ‘divisive’, says Jeffrey Donaldson

Both Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and the DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson have criticised Sinn Féin for taking out advertisements in US newspapers seeking a referendum on Irish unity in advance of St Patrick’s Day.

Mr Varadkar and Mr Donaldson, as well as Sinn Féin leaders Mary Lou McDonald and Michelle O’Neill, are in Washington this week for St Patrick’s Day events.

Sinn Féin placed half-page advertisements in the New York Times and Washington Post, among others, criticising the British government, which the party said continues to “break its obligations” under the accord.

The advertisement calls for the Good Friday Agreement to be “honoured in full”, and for the US government to hold the British authorities to account in relation to the commitments under the deal.

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“We call on the Irish Government to establish a Citizens’ Assembly and to plan, prepare and advocate for Irish unity,” it says.

But Mr Varadkar was critical of the move, describing it as “unhelpful”.

Speaking in Washington on Wednesday he said: “It’s a sensitive moment. We’re trying to get everyone on board for the Windsor Framework. And we shouldn’t forget what the Good Friday Agreement says – that there can only be a border poll when it’s clear that the majority of people in Northern Ireland would vote for it. And that’s not clear at all at the moment.

“So I think we need to focus on what’s important in the meantime. Now what’s most important is getting everyone on board for the Windsor Framework.”

Mr Varadkar said the Government was keen to proceed with the new Windsor Framework in Northern Ireland which he said was a “really good agreement that took a long time to negotiate”.

“I understand the DUP has some further questions and clarifications it is seeking from the British government and I think it important the British government should engage with all five major parties in the North because it is important we hear their voice.”

He said the Framework provided Northern Ireland with economic advantages and, crucially, avoided a hard border between North and South while protecting the EU single market.

Speaking at an event at the National Press Club in Washington, Mr Donaldson said he found the advertisements “incredible”.

“Over the last few days in the United States, I have focused on growing our economy and boosting jobs in Northern Ireland and bringing stability,” he said.

“Therefore I find it incredible that in newspapers across the USA this morning there is a full-page advert from Sinn Féin calling for a referendum on Northern Ireland being part of the United Kingdom.

“Whilst I am using my time in the US to impress upon decision-makers and investors the potential of Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin is drumming up hundreds of thousands of dollars for a divisive border poll campaign.”

He said that there was “no evidence of growing support for Northern Ireland leaving the United Kingdom. Indeed, every major poll points in the opposite direction.”

“Northern Ireland’s future is with unionists and nationalists working together. A border poll would pitch unionists and nationalists against each other and lead to further divisions,” he said. “There is no place for my unionism or my British identity in a Northern Ireland outside the United Kingdom, therefore the message from Sinn Féin is not one of working together but rather one of ourselves alone.”

More worryingly for the Irish and British governments, Mr Donaldson signalled he has continuing problems with the Northern Ireland protocol, despite the changes made by the Windsor Framework.

“Whilst the Windsor Framework goes some way in addressing our concerns, there is still more work to do,” he said.

He said it “does not deal with some of the fundamental problems at the heart of our current difficulties”, adding that there remain “key areas of concern which require further clarification, reworking and change, as well as seeing further legal text.”