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TÁNAISTE MICHEÁL MARTIN has said he is more interested in “less politically sexy” things like the Shared Island initiative than in “shouting from the rooftops” about a Border Poll.
His remarks follow the release of a report produced by the Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement which called for preparations for a united Ireland to begin “immediately”.
The report, the first to be published by the committee, examines the current economic relationship between both sides of the border, and the potential of an all-island economy.
The group, which met 11 times since April of last year, recommended that an Oireachtas committee be set up and resourced and dedicated to the preparations for a united Ireland.
The report also examined the cost of a potential united Ireland and makes the case for planning for a united Ireland to begin.
Chair of the group, Fine Gael TD Fergus O’Dowd, called for others to “seriously discuss” the issues around the possibility of constitutional change.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin TD Rose Conway-Walsh said the onus is on the Irish Government to implement the recommendations contained in the report.
Speaking from Kenya, Martin was today asked about this report from the Good Friday Agreement Committee and whether the Irish Government should start preparing for a united Ireland.
The Tánaiste said he wasn’t “going to answer that on a doorstep” but remarked that he has been involved in the Good Friday Agreement since he first came into government in 1997.
“Certain politicians will say ‘we must now prepare for a Border Poll’ and Sinn Féin say this quite often.
“And I’d love to say to Sinn Féin, ‘where’s your blueprint? What work have you been doing over the last 30 years in saying what should the future be like’.
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“I’ve got on with it, in terms of the Shared Island initiative over the past three to four years – it’s a concrete, sustainable, impactful initiative that’s about the bricks and mortar of reconciliation.”
The Shared Island initiative aims to “harness the full potential of the Good Friday Agreement to enhance cooperation, connection and mutual understanding on the island”.
It involves working with the Northern Ireland Executive and the British Government to further develop the all-island economy and to deepen North-South cooperation.
“There’s less fuss about it,” said Martin.
“We’re not shouting from the rooftops, it’s less politically sexy, maybe.
“So I’m focused on evolving the Northern process, where reconciliation has to be the number one agenda.”
Martin then added that the “Wolfe Tone vision” was one of “united people, not territory”.
“We have to stay focused on the Wolfe Tone principle of reconciliation, that’s the key,” said Martin, “whatever we do has to be inclusive.”
The Tánaiste also today said that the “most immediate focus” is to “make politics in Northern Ireland work in the first instance, we need communities to work better together”.
He said he discussed this with Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn and added that “it won’t be immediate”.
“But in the next four years, the focus should be on making politics work so that the people of Northern Ireland are comfortable with their politicians, as politics that has an impact on them and can work.”
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