TAOISEACH-ELECT SIMON HARRIS has said that Ireland has been living under a “frosty” peace since the Good Friday Agreement and that the “full potential of prosperity” has yet to be seen across the island.
In one of his first interviews with international media ahead of the Dáil voting on his nomination on Tuesday, Harris said that it was a “legitimate political aspiration” to want to see a united Ireland, but that it will not be a priority for him as leader.
Asked by Sky’s David Blevins about his thoughts on Irish unity, Harris said:
“It’s a legitimate political aspiration for people in our country to want to see a united Ireland. The Good Friday Agreement provides that framework where you can recognise different political aspirations and a very clear pathway for those to be achieved.
“That’s not where my focus priory is now, quite frankly I don’t believe it’s where our focus and priority should be.”
Harris added that more work was to be done with the peace process here.
“We have a peace process that is enduring on this island, it’s in many ways one of the most successful peace processes in the world.
“But it’s also a frosty peace, I don’t believe we’ve had the opportunity to see the full potential of prosperity embedded across the island of Ireland through the framework of the Good Friday Agreement.
His comments come ahead of the first North-South Ministerial Council meeting in nearly three years.
The council was set up under the Good Friday Agreement to develop cross-border co-operation between ministers in the North and the Republic.
No meetings took place while powersharing was on hold in Northern Ireland but Leo Varadkar will attend in one of his final engagements as Taoiseach.
Harris told Sky that while Brexit was a “really difficult and challenging” time, he believes relations are on a much better footing thanks to the return of Stormont and the Windsor Framework.
“I want to say this very clearly: I do want to have closer relationships with Britain, with the UK, with the UK government,” he said.
“We know each other historically through family, through friends, through work. Britain remains our nearest neighbour even outside the European Union. And I do think a lot of good progress has been made in the last year.”
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