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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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Even people in ancient societies, Christian or otherwise, had to periodically take time out so as not to develop rut thinking which makes life stale. It is not necessarily for everyone but places like Lough Derg with its mild form of physical challenges does break a person down and perhaps spark a person out of apathy or some issue that has taken up a lost of their time.
Going for a long walk does make a difference as the person comes back from a walk is not often the same person who began it as it does clear the head but such is one side spirituality even if society forgot it.
I wouldn’t walk these paths in case people mistake me for a religious person
@Sean O Sullivan: A slayer t-shirt & a witchdoctors rattle will sort that. The views on the Kerry walk are incredible.
@Sean O Sullivan: or people might notice the massive chip on your shoulder about religion . Ffs! Who gives a sh!t
@lochinvar56: ooh have i upset some religitards
Cars are constantly being broken into at Wicklow car parks. The councils need to put in parking attendants. Motorists would happily pay.
Pilgrimage to the pub on Good Friday, get in!
Pilgrim’s Path to and over Slieve League, in Donegal, not listed here, including the One Man Pass, is my favourite, but I do not have the head for One Man Pass myself. Still beautiful and quite a walk before that pass anyway. Surprised there is not a more established walk around Gartan and Doon Rock as a Columcille Pilgrimage in Donegal … but the 15 station Columcille Pilgrimage walk at Glencolomcille should be listed, very popular. Takes over 3 hours to complete, so not a multi day walk … though could be if Gartan was included.
You just never know what you will experience when you start on a pilgrim path but it will change you in ways that you may not expect. I have walked the Camino twice, the first time in 1992 starting in St Jean Pied le Port. I was alone at a time when the number of pilgrims were few and very far between. The most valuable experience for me was that despite many obstacles I found the courage to achieve my goal and secondly it is vital that you take one day at a time, do not look forward, do not give in to the temptation to envisage how little you have done and how far you still have to travel. Keep a diary. Thanks to the experience I now know that when things are tough I will with patience and staying power get through.
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