By Ben Collins
When I was a child at school there was talk about the three Rs. These were reading, writing and arithmetic. Clearly spelling didn’t feature prominently at the time. When I think of Irish Unity, there are three Rs which come to mind. These are renewal, reconciliation, and resilience.
The reunification of Ireland is a once in a lifetime opportunity to change our island for the better. We have significant challenges in housing, healthcare and in addressing the climate crisis. For each of these issues, we can provide solutions more effectively and more efficiently by taking an integrated all-Ireland approach. Our political structures across Ireland could also benefit from an infusion of new energy. The hope and expectations for the Northern Ireland Assembly when the Good Friday Agreement referendum was passed, have sadly not been met. The political institutions in Northern Ireland have become mired in gridlock. This is partly due to guardrails which were put in place to provide a safeguard against bad government, have instead become barriers to delivery. There appears at times to be an addiction to vetoing progress by other parties, rather than working collectively to secure wins where everyone benefits. In the Republic while we have seen an erosion of Civil War divisions, the transition to politics on a left-right axis is still a work in progress. A New Ireland can be a source of renewal. It can be one where there is equal representation for each of the four provinces in an all-Ireland Seanad. The thirty-two county Dáil will have a significant number of Unionist TDs who will hold the balance of power and be able to negotiate a significant role in a government of national unity. By comparison Westminster has been a cold house for Unionism from Northern Ireland, as there has not been a single Unionist MP from the region in the British Cabinet since the Second World War. That is eighty years outside the corridors of power. The prospect of building a new nation will surely bring new people and energy into politics across the island.
For me there is no better vehicle for reconciliation than the reunification of our country. Partition has failed both states on the island. It is misguided to say that there can be no discussion about uniting the island until reconciliation is complete. Canada was founded as a confederation more than 150 years ago and still talks about reconciliation now. We must see this as a process, not a single point in time. But we best make progress on this by removing the British border in Ireland and working together. This must include discussing and agreeing democratically how to deliver public services, grow the economy, provide housing and a healthcare system which works for all.
Irish Unity is about more than reclaiming the fourth green field, while that is undoubtedly important. It is the means by which we can create resilience for the island. There is no such thing as a kinder, gentler form of partition. The Shared Ireland Fund is a great initiative. We know that the Republic has a vibrant economy but it would be aided by having the region which is now Northern Ireland, being fully integrated into it. These six counties would provide additional capacity in a number of areas. Belfast in particular could return to being a crucial engine for the Irish economy, as the second city of the island, rather than a peripheral one on the edge of a British economy which is overly reliant on London and the South East.
We know that the far right in Ireland, Britain and the USA seeks to sow dissent across our island. They use a lack of housing and concerns over immigration to stir up resentment and aim to turn Irish citizens against their neighbours. We can deliver more housing by taking a strategic all-Ireland approach, for example using surplus public sector land which has the necessary infrastructure in place and building homes using modern methods of construction. Immigration is a good thing as people bring new ideas and dynamism to our country. We desperately need immigrants to keep our health service operational and we must do our fair share for refugees. But there are genuine concerns which must be addressed by the government showing that it can manage our borders effectively. This is best done at our sea and airports. The previous British Prime Minister boasted that his Rwanda Scheme was encouraging refugees to travel through Britain, into Northern Ireland and then onto the Republic. For as long as there is a border on the island of Ireland, there will always be those who seek to use it as a point of leverage against Ireland or the wider EU.
Another benefit of Irish Unity is that we can use our topography as an island to take a single approach to future pandemics which unfortunately are increasingly likely due to the damage we are doing to our climate. At times during COVID-19, for a small island, we were taking completely contradictory approaches because of the two states which currently exist. We need to take a consistent approach so that we can protect the most vulnerable and be able to adopt a zero covid approach as New Zealand did, while vaccines are developed. There is an increasing prospect of Nigel Farage as British Prime Minister and there is a risk of him calling a border poll at short notice to cause chaos in Ireland and the wider EU. Britain is our neighbour and we want good relations with them.
The best way to achieve that is through reunification of our island, to remove the border in Ireland which has been a source of friction across this island and between us and Britain. In this way Britain can pursue their desired form of Brexit, to leave the European Convention of Human Rights if they so wish, unfettered by the requirements of the Good Friday Agreement. These three Rs of Irish unity will benefit everyone who lives across Ireland. We cannot afford procrastination, we must begin preparation now, in advance of the border poll which is increasingly likely.
By Ben Collins
When I was a child at school there was talk about the three Rs. These were reading, writing and arithmetic. Clearly spelling didn’t feature prominently at the time. When I think of Irish Unity, there are three Rs which come to mind. These are renewal, reconciliation, and resilience.
The reunification of Ireland is a once in a lifetime opportunity to change our island for the better. We have significant challenges in housing, healthcare and in addressing the climate crisis. For each of these issues, we can provide solutions more effectively and more efficiently by taking an integrated all-Ireland approach. Our political structures across Ireland could also benefit from an infusion of new energy. The hope and expectations for the Northern Ireland Assembly when the Good Friday Agreement referendum was passed, have sadly not been met. The political institutions in Northern Ireland have become mired in gridlock. This is partly due to guardrails which were put in place to provide a safeguard against bad government, have instead become barriers to delivery. There appears at times to be an addiction to vetoing progress by other parties, rather than working collectively to secure wins where everyone benefits. In the Republic while we have seen an erosion of Civil War divisions, the transition to politics on a left-right axis is still a work in progress. A New Ireland can be a source of renewal. It can be one where there is equal representation for each of the four provinces in an all-Ireland Seanad. The thirty-two county Dáil will have a significant number of Unionist TDs who will hold the balance of power and be able to negotiate a significant role in a government of national unity. By comparison Westminster has been a cold house for Unionism from Northern Ireland, as there has not been a single Unionist MP from the region in the British Cabinet since the Second World War. That is eighty years outside the corridors of power. The prospect of building a new nation will surely bring new people and energy into politics across the island.
For me there is no better vehicle for reconciliation than the reunification of our country. Partition has failed both states on the island. It is misguided to say that there can be no discussion about uniting the island until reconciliation is complete. Canada was founded as a confederation more than 150 years ago and still talks about reconciliation now. We must see this as a process, not a single point in time. But we best make progress on this by removing the British border in Ireland and working together. This must include discussing and agreeing democratically how to deliver public services, grow the economy, provide housing and a healthcare system which works for all.
Irish Unity is about more than reclaiming the fourth green field, while that is undoubtedly important. It is the means by which we can create resilience for the island. There is no such thing as a kinder, gentler form of partition. The Shared Ireland Fund is a great initiative. We know that the Republic has a vibrant economy but it would be aided by having the region which is now Northern Ireland, being fully integrated into it. These six counties would provide additional capacity in a number of areas. Belfast in particular could return to being a crucial engine for the Irish economy, as the second city of the island, rather than a peripheral one on the edge of a British economy which is overly reliant on London and the South East.
We know that the far right in Ireland, Britain and the USA seeks to sow dissent across our island. They use a lack of housing and concerns over immigration to stir up resentment and aim to turn Irish citizens against their neighbours. We can deliver more housing by taking a strategic all-Ireland approach, for example using surplus public sector land which has the necessary infrastructure in place and building homes using modern methods of construction. Immigration is a good thing as people bring new ideas and dynamism to our country. We desperately need immigrants to keep our health service operational and we must do our fair share for refugees. But there are genuine concerns which must be addressed by the government showing that it can manage our borders effectively. This is best done at our sea and airports. The previous British Prime Minister boasted that his Rwanda Scheme was encouraging refugees to travel through Britain, into Northern Ireland and then onto the Republic. For as long as there is a border on the island of Ireland, there will always be those who seek to use it as a point of leverage against Ireland or the wider EU.
Another benefit of Irish Unity is that we can use our topography as an island to take a single approach to future pandemics which unfortunately are increasingly likely due to the damage we are doing to our climate. At times during COVID-19, for a small island, we were taking completely contradictory approaches because of the two states which currently exist. We need to take a consistent approach so that we can protect the most vulnerable and be able to adopt a zero covid approach as New Zealand did, while vaccines are developed. There is an increasing prospect of Nigel Farage as British Prime Minister and there is a risk of him calling a border poll at short notice to cause chaos in Ireland and the wider EU. Britain is our neighbour and we want good relations with them.
The best way to achieve that is through reunification of our island, to remove the border in Ireland which has been a source of friction across this island and between us and Britain. In this way Britain can pursue their desired form of Brexit, to leave the European Convention of Human Rights if they so wish, unfettered by the requirements of the Good Friday Agreement. These three Rs of Irish unity will benefit everyone who lives across Ireland. We cannot afford procrastination, we must begin preparation now, in advance of the border poll which is increasingly likely.