On 25th March 2026 Senator Frances Black held a panel discussion in Leinster House with three people from a Protestant background in Northern Ireland. These were Rev Karen Sethuraman, Claire Mitchell and Ben Collins.
Below is the opening statement at the event made by Ben Collins, author of The Irish Unity Dividend and Irish Unity; Time to Prepare, both published by Luath Press.
Irish Unity is about two things: identity and quality of life.
While reclaiming the fourth green field is important, for me this is primarily about how do we ensure the best standard of living for everyone who lives across this island. In so many ways we will be better when we take a truly all-Ireland approach to our healthcare, housing, education, economy and addressing the climate crisis. You do not have to be an economist to know that one of something is less expensive and more efficient than two of something.
The reunification of our island will lead to greater resilience, renewal of our political structures and is the only way we can truly secure reconciliation.
We need to use our topography as an island to protect everyone who lives across Ireland from future pandemics as best we can. By taking an all-Ireland approach to immigration, we can manage it better at our sea and airports. We can stop any British government using the border on Ireland as a pressure point to secure concessions elsewhere from the EU or seeking to reintroduce a hard border on the island.
Bringing the island together into one state will enable the fast growing economy in the Republic to fully access the additional capacity provided by what is currently Northern Ireland. This not an abstract discussion, it is about bread and butter issues. How can we create the best conditions to protect the vulnerable, enable everyone to thrive and make more of our young people feel that they can have a successful future here? The answer is by securing Irish Unity.
There are going to be elections to the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd in Wales this May, as well as local council elections in England. These are likely to result in the following outcomes:
- The largest ever pro-independence majority in Scotland when you combine SNP and Greens seats.
- Plaid Cymru the party in favour of Welsh independence, being returned as the largest party for the first time ever and leading the Welsh government for the first time.
- In both countries Reform UK is likely to perform well, partly at the expense of the establishment parties, i.e. Labour and Conservatives.
- In England Reform UK are likely to do well, again at the expense of Labour and Conservatives. The Green party which is in favour of Scottish and Welsh independence as well as Irish Unity, may also perform well.
Just as many moderate unionists were opposed to Brexit, I believe increasing amounts of people from a PUL (Protestant Unionist and Loyalist) background are horrified by the prospect of Nigel Farage as British Prime Minister. I know this because I speak to people all the time about it. Farage’s politics are divisive and disruptive. He will seek to undermine the Good Friday Agreement and the UK’s membership of the European Convention of Human Rights. Both of these provide human rights protections for everyone across Ireland, including unionists.
He may also call a border poll at short notice. We do not have the luxury of procrastination, we must begin preparation now. The only way we can be in control of our destiny is by being prepared for the border poll which is increasingly likely in the next decade. It is reckless not to prepare for this possibility. For as long as there is a British border on the island of Ireland, we will be at the mercy of external factors. Increasing numbers of people from a PUL background are open to Irish Unity because of Brexit and the fragmentation of British politics, where Northern Ireland is not considered.
The Irish Government can lead the way by preparing for a constitutional outcome which was acknowledged in the Good Friday Agreement nearly three decades ago. Members of the PUL community are deeply concerned by the increasingly febrile nature of British politics. The Irish Government can provide a stabilising influence by setting out how PUL rights and culture will be protected and cherished in a New Ireland. But also providing reassurance that any constitutional change will only happen through a solely democratic process.
I know there is hurt within the PUL community about the past and fear about the future. By bringing people together in a forum established by the Irish Government to talk about for example, what all-Ireland public services and economy would look like, we can begin to address these emotions and create a country where everyone has a say.
Like my fellow panellists I come from a Protestant background. I am a Presbyterian. There is a better way forward for everyone across this island, instead of sticking with the fractured state of partition. No Unionist MP from Northern Ireland has been a member of the British Cabinet since the Second World War. That’s 80 years outside the corridors of power. Let’s bring Unionism into the Irish political mainstream, so that Protestants, Catholics and Dissenters can build a New Ireland together where everyone will benefit.
On 25th March 2026 Senator Frances Black held a panel discussion in Leinster House with three people from a Protestant background in Northern Ireland. These were Rev Karen Sethuraman, Claire Mitchell and Ben Collins.
Below is the opening statement at the event made by Ben Collins, author of The Irish Unity Dividend and Irish Unity; Time to Prepare, both published by Luath Press.
Irish Unity is about two things: identity and quality of life.
While reclaiming the fourth green field is important, for me this is primarily about how do we ensure the best standard of living for everyone who lives across this island. In so many ways we will be better when we take a truly all-Ireland approach to our healthcare, housing, education, economy and addressing the climate crisis. You do not have to be an economist to know that one of something is less expensive and more efficient than two of something.
The reunification of our island will lead to greater resilience, renewal of our political structures and is the only way we can truly secure reconciliation.
We need to use our topography as an island to protect everyone who lives across Ireland from future pandemics as best we can. By taking an all-Ireland approach to immigration, we can manage it better at our sea and airports. We can stop any British government using the border on Ireland as a pressure point to secure concessions elsewhere from the EU or seeking to reintroduce a hard border on the island.
Bringing the island together into one state will enable the fast growing economy in the Republic to fully access the additional capacity provided by what is currently Northern Ireland. This not an abstract discussion, it is about bread and butter issues. How can we create the best conditions to protect the vulnerable, enable everyone to thrive and make more of our young people feel that they can have a successful future here? The answer is by securing Irish Unity.
There are going to be elections to the Scottish Parliament and the Senedd in Wales this May, as well as local council elections in England. These are likely to result in the following outcomes:
Just as many moderate unionists were opposed to Brexit, I believe increasing amounts of people from a PUL (Protestant Unionist and Loyalist) background are horrified by the prospect of Nigel Farage as British Prime Minister. I know this because I speak to people all the time about it. Farage’s politics are divisive and disruptive. He will seek to undermine the Good Friday Agreement and the UK’s membership of the European Convention of Human Rights. Both of these provide human rights protections for everyone across Ireland, including unionists.
He may also call a border poll at short notice. We do not have the luxury of procrastination, we must begin preparation now. The only way we can be in control of our destiny is by being prepared for the border poll which is increasingly likely in the next decade. It is reckless not to prepare for this possibility. For as long as there is a British border on the island of Ireland, we will be at the mercy of external factors. Increasing numbers of people from a PUL background are open to Irish Unity because of Brexit and the fragmentation of British politics, where Northern Ireland is not considered.
The Irish Government can lead the way by preparing for a constitutional outcome which was acknowledged in the Good Friday Agreement nearly three decades ago. Members of the PUL community are deeply concerned by the increasingly febrile nature of British politics. The Irish Government can provide a stabilising influence by setting out how PUL rights and culture will be protected and cherished in a New Ireland. But also providing reassurance that any constitutional change will only happen through a solely democratic process.
I know there is hurt within the PUL community about the past and fear about the future. By bringing people together in a forum established by the Irish Government to talk about for example, what all-Ireland public services and economy would look like, we can begin to address these emotions and create a country where everyone has a say.
Like my fellow panellists I come from a Protestant background. I am a Presbyterian. There is a better way forward for everyone across this island, instead of sticking with the fractured state of partition. No Unionist MP from Northern Ireland has been a member of the British Cabinet since the Second World War. That’s 80 years outside the corridors of power. Let’s bring Unionism into the Irish political mainstream, so that Protestants, Catholics and Dissenters can build a New Ireland together where everyone will benefit.