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SIMON COVENEY HAS said discussing a united Ireland as part of the Brexit debate is “not helpful”.
The Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs said the issue could “create an even more divisive debate and atmosphere in Northern Ireland, which is the last thing we need”.
There has been speculation that Britain leaving the European Union could eventually lead to the unification of the Republic and Northern Ireland.
Earlier this month, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said a “crash” no-deal Brexit moves the timeline for a border poll on a united Ireland forward.
“In the event of a crash … certainly the issue of a referendum on unity would move, advance, very, very quickly,” McDonald said on 11 December.
Coveney said Sinn Féin’s calls for a border poll are a “hugely unhelpful intervention” done for “party political reasons”.
When asked about the possibility of a united Ireland in the next 10 to 20 years, Coveney said: “That’s a sensitive question at the moment given the pressures of Brexit. I try to be very careful with what I have said on this issue. We don’t really want a constitutional change and a debate around that to be part of the Brexit debate. It’s not helpful.
It creates more tension on top of what is already a very tense and divisive debate in Northern Ireland and Westminster.
“That issue is dealt with comprehensively under the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) and under the principle of consent which we absolutely support.”
Peace process
The Tánaiste said the Irish government and nationalists need to “reach out to unionism in a more effective way than perhaps has been possible in recent years”.
“We are all neighbours on this island and we have to learn to live together. Unfortunately the threats of Brexit have caused a lot of tensions that we wish weren’t happening.
Unionists feel threatened by Brexit, nationalists feel threatened by Brexit, and others who are neither in Northern Ireland feel hugely frustrated by Brexit because of the paralysis that has come with it in the context of politics in Northern Ireland and the ability to get a devolved government back up and running.
“So I think we need to take this step by step. What we are dealing with now is Brexit. What we are trying to do is to protect the peace process and the status quo rather than looking to change the constitutional arrangements on this island as a result of Brexit.”
Coveney added that the Irish government is “trying to accommodate different perspectives in the context of Brexit”.
“If we can do that we create a platform, hopefully, and a trust between unionist and nationalist parties – and of course the Alliance as well and the Green Party – that can hopefully allow us on the back of finding a way through Brexit get devolved government back up and running again so we have the mechanisms of the GFA functioning,” he stated.
Northern Ireland has been without a devolved government since January 2017.
House of Commons vote
Meanwhile, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has called on the United Kingdom to “get your act together” in relation to Brexit.
Earlier this month, British Prime Minister Theresa May postponed a House of Commons vote on the draft Withdrawal Agreement so she could seek additional assurances on the backstop element of the deal. The vote is now expected to take place in January.
Many politicians have raised concerns about the backstop, which aims to avoid a hard border between the Republic and Northern Ireland and could see the North stay aligned to some EU rules.
The Democratic Unionist Party believes the backstop threatens the United Kingdom and could lead to a trade border in the Irish Sea.
Preparations are being made at British, Irish and European level for a no-deal Brexit, in case an agreement is not reached ahead of the official withdrawal date of 29 March.
With reporting by Christina Finn
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They bought their houses cheap decades ago because a second runway was always on the cards. They have some neck to complain about it now.
@Awkward Seal: bought cheap off who? Majority of houses in affected area privately built decades ago.
@Marc Thomas: decades ago when the airport was 9 to 5 almost. You try living with planes in a holding pattern over head at 1 and 2 o clock in the morning. 5 or six times round at low altitude, low enough that the lights illuminate the bedrooms. Causing Noise levels of 40dbl INSIDE the house.
120 outside.
@Brendan Hughes: aircraft in a hold would not fly that low! It’s an airport so of course if you live near it. You shall hear planes!
@oliverjumelle: like the waves at the sea side if you pick up a shell put it to your ear and listen you’ll hear a plane
@Brendan Hughes: Do you have any idea where the holding patterns are? Miles away from the area!
Two are out in the Irish Sea, one is over Kildare and the other is up over Meath!
@Tony Stanley: 40dbl isn’t that much really
@Cicero: 40dB is around the level of sound you would experience in a library.
@Awkward Seal: that about one of the most stupid illogical comment ever written on here.
@Brendan Hughes: I work in the airport and the aircraft are only about 120dbl when i’m standing 20 ft from the engine, at 6,000ft the noise of the wind would be louder than the aircraft engine, try again with your make believe story
@Brendan Hughes: holding patterns are over the Irish sea, sometimes Wicklow, Kildare Meath, and not above the airport and not at 1-2am in the morning, as you suggest. I live under runway 34 approach and it doesn’t bother me, Brendan.All these people want is a very very big payout.
A jet on takeoff is 100db from 300 meters away, these residents who are complaining live nearly 3kms away from runway 16-34 and 1.6km away from runway 28-10. Kilreesk Lane, St Margaret’s, Co Dublin is where these residents are and The new runway will be 1.6kms away from these residents.
@Brendan Hughes: don’t buy beside an airport then….. Jees some people have no one to blame but them selves
@Brendan Hughes: Don’t buy a house near an airport so. Same nimbys complained beside Aviva or Croker. Tough luck, unless you inherited the house or bought it before the airport was built little sympathy.
They need to bring in legislation that anything deemed “strategic infrastructure” is completely immune from the planning and legal process. This country is surely the most indulgent of cranks and crackpots on the planet.
@Fred Jetson: Sure you’ll be singing that tune when they run an overpass over your house won’t ye Fred?
Hyperbole? Yes. But you’re the one saying they should be immune from all regulation, so when will you be telling the government they have your permission to open that overpass?
@Fred Jetson: are you giving out Fred
Unless the residents are in their late 70′s they have chosen to live beside an airport. Planning permission for The North runway was granted by Bord Pleanala in 2007 so it’s not exactly a shock for the residents. Couple that with an offer by DAA to pay 30% over the odds for houses in the affected area and these objections start to look, at best, like nimbyism and at worst like an attempt to extort even more money from DAA.
I live across the bay no where near the airport and we are regularly woken by night flights. Night flights are not common across built up cities despite the DAA’s insistence. The constant circling at three in the morning is the killer. I would love if they published their stats on how they ensure aircraft are keeping their height in compliance with regulations. It often feels like a plane is landing on our roof.
@Sian O Sullivan: circling at 3 in the morning, you must be hallucinating, the airport is empty at that time and no need for any holding/circling, plus there’s no flights due in or out of DUB at that time, pax or cargo ones, try again
The Airport have acknowledged and apologised for them. I can happily forward you their pathetic generic email. They advised that the south runaway is only used when necessary – due to maintenance or bad weather. Their night flights are in accordance with other large cities. Why do you think I would even bother if this wasn’t an issue for me. I live no where near the airport and have ZERO to gain from it. Have a look at the lists of complaints on their twitter feed.
Per the DAA 65 flights between 11pm and 5AM …. https://www.google.ie/amp/s/www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/night-flights-over-south-dublin-during-runway-overhaul-1.2714068%3Fmode=amp
@Sian O Sullivan: 65 arrivals and take offs between 11pm and 5am, unless there is an unusual delay you’ll never get an aircraft around the airport at 3am, most nights the latest arrival is 1am and earliest arrival is 5am, earliest take-off is around 05:30am, apart from the odd cargo flight. Again, try again with your 3am in the morning noise, it very very very rarely happens.
Those 5AM arrivals are nearly always early. You are ignoring the fact that most flights especially holidays ones are delayed by a number of hours bringing them in to the early hours. Your argument makes no sense. You are choosing facts and ignoring the stats provided – 65 flights over night. Even if 90% came between 11-12 it is too late. These have woken my family regularly and just saying it’s not true is your argument is ridiculous.
@Sian O Sullivan: lay off the pills
@Sian O Sullivan: What a load of shite about aircraft circling at 3am. There are no flights due in or out of Dublin Airport at for at least 2 hours either side of 3am
@Sian O Sullivan: Where is across the bay btw? North side bay?
@Sian O Sullivan: you live minimum 15kms away from the airport.
planes keep 3 degrees on landing. people who live beside the airport seem fine with it. i suppose you never fly nor do you, typical not in my back garden brigade. planes don’t circle over you hahaha. you’re not in a holding pattern where you live, its 5% of Dublin airports traffic, i must tell them to hold off on the transatlantic flights so you can try to get some kip in. planes are quieter than 10 years ago, and why on earth buy a house under a flight path for runway 34 (that’s been there before you were born) if this was an issue? it’s like buying a house beside the motorway/train and then complaining about the noise. it’s 5% of Dublin airports traffic using that runway its also there for crosswind landings but I’m guessing you rather a diverted flight ?
@Niall Brew: southside bay, you know loike , buys a house under the flight path, is then annoyed by it. hahahaha, can’t make this s**t up
The airport was there before most if not all of these objectors. They’re like townies who move to the country and then complain about farm smells and country sports etc. They should take up Plane Spotting
I live under a flight path and me and the kids love watching the planes going over head. My only objection is when they start using the new runway it will be less planes going over our house.
NIMBYISM the gift that keeps on giving
@Leroy: Easy to say for the fella whose backyard won’t have a flight path over it.
@Bryan Kelly: I’ll have the new flight path right over my house at low altitude as I’ll be less than a KM from the threshold!
I agree, NIMBYs are a cancer on this rock!
@Bryan Kelly: When did you buy your house?
Let’s not forget we need planes we live on an island surrounded by water big water some ocean water with a little bit of sea water to the east
I think the accusations of nimbyism are very unfair – and I can’t see how the counsel for the DAA can argue that this is in the “public interest”. As it says in the article
“The second runway has been deemed vital to proposals to turn the airport into an international hub.”
What they mean is that they want the second runway so people can fly THROUGH Dublin airport and use the transit lounge. The second runway is not needed for people either arriving or leaving Ireland – the existing runway is enough for that. But to grow the BUSINESS they want people to be able to fly from mainland europe into Dublin and take connecting flights to the US. So for people to argue that somehow because the DAA isn’t allowed to make more money by competing with Heathrow and Frankfurt for transfer business and that somehow this is “holding the nation to ransom” means you don’t really understand the issue.
Lived in Heathrow for a number of years 6 planes on landing approach at any one time and honestly you get so used to it you don’t take a tack of notice after a while .
Brown envelopes and more big brown envelopes will sort this.
The DAA are total bullies trying to force their commercial agenda and pass it off as “national progress”. They are circumnavigating the meagre flight restrictions that are in place and are actively trying to abolish them altogether. Every country has night time flight restrictions in place, they are there to protect its citizens. On Noise Restrictions Dublin Airport came last when compared with the other Large European Airports i.e. BCN, BRU, CPH, DUS, FRA, MAN, MAD, PMI, ZRH.
Dublin Airport also scored the worst on Noise Abatement Procedures. It is the least regulated airport when compared to the other main and similar sizes airports in Europe i.e. Rome, Palma, Oslo, Barcelona, Paris, Frankfurt, Madrid, Copenhagen, Paris Orly, Vienna, Zurich, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Munich, London Gatwick, London Heathrow.
I am not against progress but let’s do things properly and respect the people living in north county Dublin and the surrounding counties. We do not have to take a ‘banana republic’ attitude to everything all the time. They need to do this correctly and that means restrictions at night. In the meantime I am woken every night by planes flying over my house between 12 and 6am. It is not a level of sound one could get used to, it is like someone starting a lawn mower on your roof.
They accept cash !
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