Louth TD hits back at ‘off the table’ border poll comments
Louth TD says Irish unity referendum cannot be ruled out
It is not up to British Prime Minister Andy Burnham to decide if an Irish unity referendum is ‘off the table’ when it is enshrined in international law in the Good Friday Agreement, Dundalk TD Ruairí Ó Murchú has said.
The Sinn Féin deputy was speaking after Mr Burnham’s trip last week to the North where he met with party leaders, including Mary Lou McDonald and caused controversy by stating in media interviews that a border poll was ‘off the table’.
Deputy Ó Murchú said the Prime Minister’s remarks were ‘nonsense’ and pointed to the fact that the same evening as the comments were made, Downing Street issued a statement saying: ‘The prime minister said as we approached the 30th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, his commitment to every part of it including the principle of consent remained unwavering’.
The Louth TD said: “The right to a referendum on Irish Unity is a key part of the Good Friday Agreement. It was agreed in referendums and is enshrined in international law.
“It cannot be taken off the table. The people of Ireland, north and south, will have the opportunity to determine our own future in a unity referendum in the period ahead.
“That is what people voted for. If the British Prime Minister really wants to learn the lessons from their disastrous Brexit referendum, then the responsible thing to do is to prepare for the possibility of constitutional change in Ireland.
“Pretending that it’s off the table is not a strategy. Refusing to prepare will not stop change from coming. It is as reckless as what happened with Brexit.
“In a way it is not that surprising that a British Prime Minister made the ‘off the table’ remarks when Taoiseach Micheál Martin also seems to have the same view and doesn’t want to plan for unity.
“While I always expect nothing from British Prime Ministers, I do expect more from the Taoiseach and the Irish government.
“Neither the ill-advised comments of Andy Burnham nor the Taoiseach’s reprehensible failure to plan for the possibility of Irish unity will hold back the tide of change”.