WELCOME TO POLICY Matters, a series from The Journal that takes a deep dive into the ideas and solutions proposed by Ireland’s politicians on some of the biggest issues of the day.
As part of the series, The Journal sits down with different spokespeople from across Ireland’s political parties to take a deeper look at what they believe needs to be done across areas like housing, health, the environment and childcare.
This week, we sat down with Sinn Féin’s foreign affairs spokesperson Matt Carthy where we discussed how his party would address the foreign affairs brief if in government.
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ACCORDING TO MATT Carthy, Ireland is at a “pivotal” point in its history and generations to come will look back at this time as a “period of profound positive change”.
This is because, in his view we are edging closer to a United Ireland and the undoing of partition – something that Carthy says will happen “much quicker than people might think”.
Carthy, a TD for Cavan-Monaghan, previously served as an MEP from 2014 until his election to the Dáil in 2020.
Now the party’s spokesperson on foreign affairs, he believes that although there is a lot of work to be done before getting to the point of a feasible united Ireland, partition as it stands does not maximise Ireland’s potential.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has previously said that he believes we will see a united Ireland within his lifetime, and after the UK’s decision to leave the European Union, debate on the issue has entered a new phase.
A vote on the issue would need to be had, with the Good Friday Agreement providing for the people of the island of Ireland to exercise their right of self-determination by agreement between the people of North and South.
In Carthy’s view, this vote could only happen on the basis of a “constructively planned approach”.
“That is why we’ve been urging the government to take concrete steps to actually plan for Irish unity. That means establishing a Citizens Assembly, that means carrying out the conversations and analysis that need to take place,” Carthy said.
He added:
The one thing I know for sure, I live in a border community, I know that nobody on this island is served by us having two of everything.
“We’re too small of a country to operate like that.”
“And so from an economic point of view, I think from a geographical point of view, from every point of view, partition doesn’t make sense,” Carthy said.
“Irish unity is clearly the sensible proposition. What we now need to do is speak to the hearts and minds of those people who aren’t yet convinced, and convince them that a united Ireland will be in the best interests of them, of their families, of their communities, and more importantly of the entire 32 counties of this country.”
On the point of winning hearts and minds, Carthy said Sinn Féin is mindful that it needs to respect and build relationships with Unionists.
It is expected that the UK’s King Charles will visit Ireland this year for the first time since taking the throne.
Would Carthy and party leader Mary Lou McDonald attend any events if invited?
“We haven’t been invited to any, but we will look at the context of any events,” Carthy said.
“We’ve had engagements with members of the royal family as you know, and we’ve always done that on the basis of the peace and reconciliation process that is on ongoing.
“We’ve also done it because we’re mindful that for a significant cohort of the people who live on this island, they see King Charles as their monarch. And we do it out of respect for them as much as the need to build relationships between these islands,” he said.
European Union
Over the years, Sinn Féin has gone on a journey with its relationship to the EU.
While the party previously opposed European integration, nowadays Ireland’s membership of the EU isn’t up for discussion, according to Carthy.
“There is very broad consensus that on balance, membership of the European Union has served us very well. Some people have taken that to mean that we can’t criticize any aspects of the European Union,” Carthy said.
Based on his experience, he has formed the view that there are elements of how the EU operates that need to be changed.
“As somebody who was a member of the European Parliament, I sometimes felt that it was purposely designed to be confusing in some aspects, because it’s very difficult to convey to ordinary people how the decisions that are being made at a European level may affect them down the line,” Carthy said.
He added that there is a need to “constantly evaluate” how the EU can better serve its citizens, but believes success in areas like climate change and food security can only be achieved at an EU level.
“Where the European Union gets itself into difficulty is when it tries to impede on the sovereignty of member states on issues that would be best determined by a member state or even a lower level,” he said.
As part of Sinn Féin’s journey on the EU, Carthy last year rolled back on a Sinn Féin position by dropping its pledges to withdraw from EU and Nato defence arrangements.
On a number of occasions in the past, Sinn Féin promised it would withdraw from the EU’s Pesco arrangement and Nato’s Partnership for Peace, if it entered government.
Last year, Carthy said it was no longer the case that Sinn Féin would immediately withdraw Ireland from both arrangements.
Did this represent a watering down of Sinn Féin policy ahead of an election?
Not in Carthy’s eyes. Instead he said it shows that Sinn Féin is willing to honour existing international commitments.
This is an idea Carthy continues to return to over the course of the interview: the importance of consistency in policy at international level.
According to Carthy, the only way countries like Ireland can have a strong voice in the world is by having a consistent approach on issues of international law.
At the moment, Sinn Féin believes Ireland’s approach to Israel and Gaza is not a consistent one.
He pointed out that the Irish government has acknowledged that there has been a breach of international law in regards to Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and asks why the response to this differs to the response to Russia and its invasion of Ukraine.
Despite this, he said the government does deserve some credit for its public statements on Israel and Palestine.
On policy matters and on public pronouncements, the Irish government historically have had very progressive and correct positions.
“I fear that that could be slipping because I think our position in the world has been based on the fact that we’ve had an independent foreign policy.
“We’ve been able to speak truth to power and been able to do it confidently because of the consistency of approach. And that was based in part on our neutrality,” Carthy said.
He believes there is now a trajectory in government to undermine Ireland’s neutrality and pointed to the decision announced by Micheál Martin in November to get rid of the Triple Lock for Irish military involvement in operations abroad.
Carthy said a Sinn Féin government would undo this “disappointing” decision.
Looking ahead
Sinn Féin has been enjoying strong poll numbers and continues to be the most popular party in the country according to the latest.
Looking to the future, would ownership of the foreign affairs portfolio be a red line issue for Sinn Féin in any coalition talks?
“That’s a matter for our party leader,” Carthy said.
“Personally, I hope we get the Minister of Foreign Affairs because I think a Sinn Féin Minister for Foreign Affairs would bring an energy to the portfolio.
“We have a bit of road to go before that happens,” Carthy said.
He added: “Obviously, if the opportunity to become Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence presented, I would be only too delighted to accept it.”
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