[Sephiroth]

Originally Posted by jonbxx

Do you feel that there's much of an appetite for reunification in Ireland? Sure, Sinn Fein wants it but noone else does. Fine Gael is probably the most UK friendly party in Ireland and they are currently the ruling party in the Oireachtas. Ireland revised their claim to the North in Nineteenth Amendment referendum with a 94% 'yes' vote.

Northern Ireland is to be honest a political and economic basket case. 25% is Northern Irelands income is subsidies from Westminster to the tune of €11bn a year. Ireland doesn't want it on its' books, they are doing well but not that well. To be honest, reunification from an economic point of view would be better for the UK!

Here are nice articles found while reading up for my reply;

Study on the costs of reunification - https://www.irishtimes.com/business/...y-15-1.3629748
How reunification could happen - https://www.instituteforgovernment.o...-reunification
Leo Varadkar opposed to reunification referendum - https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/n...-35932315.html
Opinion piece on why reunification will not happen - https://reaction.life/brexit-no-silv...reunification/

I visit Ulster at least twice a year. As you say, the majority don't want to unify with the Republic. A religious divide as we all know.

Your analysis of the Fine Gael position may well be correct. But a pressure to unify isn't an allegation that I'm making. By me saying that the 'EU wants to carve Ulster away from the UK', I mean that they want to force the UK into unpalatable constitutional arrangements; just because they are nasty. TM seems not to have fully averted that because the Backstop includes a deeper arrangement for Ulster alone, which is the carve up to which I am referring.