Next government must ‘actively’ work towards a united Ireland, Varadkar tells Belfast conference

The next government must “actively” work towards a united Ireland, Leo Varadkar has said.

Speaking at an Ireland’s Future event in Belfast on Saturday, the former taoiseach said he hoped that no matter which parties make up that government, “what we’ll see is a long-standing aspiration towards unification become a political objective”.

This meant, he said, “actively working towards it, preparing the ground for it, for the financial implications, talking about the model of the new Constitution and what it might look like”.

Mr Varadkar also suggested a financial fund could be set up by Government to prepare for the transition period towards unity.

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Next government must ‘actively’ work towards a united Ireland, Varadkar tells Belfast conference

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Just as the Government prepared for other contingencies, he said, “I think it’s reasonable to apply that same logic to unification and to start to set aside money now to ease and make that transition easier”.

However, he was “reluctant” to put a timescale on any border poll.

“It’s really important that we don’t do it, in my view, until we’ve got reasonable confidence that it can pass, and if you look at the research and the results of elections, we’re not quite there yet, we have to build support for a united Ireland,” he said.

Asked about the criteria for a border poll – which under the terms of the Belfast Agreement, can only be called by the Northern Secretary – the former taoiseach said there should be a “conversation” on what constitutes the right “conditions”.

“I’m not going to describe the criteria here because I don’t know what they should be, that’s something that has to be discussed by the parties and the governments,” he said.

Practical preparation for unity, he said, could include expanding the Shared Island unit in the Department of the Taoiseach to “do more work on preparing the different models as to what a united Ireland might look like”.

Mr Varadkar was one of a number of high-profile speakers who addressed a crowd of several thousand people at the Pathway to Change event in the SSE Arena in Belfast on Saturday afternoon.

Others included the Northern Ireland First Minister Michelle O’Neill, and her party colleague, the Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, GAA president Jarlath Burns and the trade union leader Mick Lynch.

The Alliance MLA Nuala McAllister attended in place of her party leader, Naomi Long, who withdrew from a panel discussion. No unionist politicians took part.

The Belfast event is the latest in a series of meetings organised by pro-unity campaign group Ireland’s Future, which aims facilitate discussion and plan for a united Ireland in accordance with the principles of the Belfast Agreement.

Delivering the keynote address, Mr Burns said “everything has to be on the table” in the discussion on Irish unity.

He said “everyone on the island needs to know that we are serious about respecting differing viewpoints and sincere about trying to accommodate the various traditions on the island – including those most recently arrived.

“If the benefits to the people of the island in managing their own affairs and destiny in a pluralistic, non-threatening way are laid bare and become apparent, I would wager that most people on this island would think that worthy of consideration and exploration.”

In her remarks Ms O’Neill sought to end the ongoing uncertainty over the rebuilding of Casement Park GAA ground in west Belfast, saying “in case there is any doubt out there, Casement Park will be built on my watch.”

She also discussed her relationship with the Deputy First Minister, the DUP MLA Emma Little-Pengelly, saying that though they came from very different backgrounds their “common ground” was around “prosperity for everyone … around trying to build our community”.

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