Irish Reunification is a term used to describe potential future secession of Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom to the Republic of Ireland, as advocated by Republicans and opposed by Unionists.
Overview
Irish Reunification is the official policy of two of Northern Ireland's major political parties, Sinn Féin and the Social Democratic and Labour Party, as well as the smaller Irish Republican Socialist Party, Republican Sinn Féin, the Workers Party, and the 32 County Sovereignty Movement. Several paramilitary groups also seek reunification, including the Provisional Irish Republican Army, the Irish National Liberation Army, the Continuity Irish Republican Army, and the Real Irish Republican Army. Each group differs on how reunification will be achieved, and how a united Ireland will function.
Support and opposition for Reunification
There is universal support in the Republic of Ireland for reunification from all political parties, however parties differ on how to accomplish this.
Opposition to reunification comes from Unionist political parties in Northern Ireland, particularly the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP)
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is currently the largest pro-reunification party in the Northern Ireland Assembly. It believes reunification can be achieved through electoral means, but in the past it promoted a policy of political and violent intervention through the Provisional Irish Republican Army (a paramilitary group with links to Sinn Féin). They wish to reunite Ireland through progressive integration of institutions, ultimately resulting in a referendum on reunification. After reunification, Sinn Féin wishes to amend the Irish constitution to protect minorities (including the Protestant/Ulster Scots communities).
Sinn Fein has growing support since it advocated a peaceful route to civil changes in the North and to reunification.
Social Democratic and Labour Party
The SDLP describes itself as 100% for a United Ireland. They believe that reunification should be accomplished through electoral means only. This means that they would support a United Ireland only if a majority of both nations' people voted for reunification in a referendum. In a United Ireland, the SDLP would support the continuation of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Good Friday Agreement.
The SDLP commands moderate support.
Irish Republican Socialist Party
The IRSP works towards attaining a united socialist Irish state. The IRSP is one half of the Irish Republican Socialist Movement, the other half is the paramilitary organization known as the INLA (currently observing a ceasefire). The IRSP is opposed to the Good Friday Agreement, and will settle for nothing less than total reunification.
The IRSP are extremely small and command almost no popular support.
Republican Sinn Féin
Republican Sinn Féin does not believe that the Irish or the Northern Irish governments are legitimate. Therefore, it abstains from elections in both parts of the island. It believes that Ireland should be a unified nation made up of four provinces (Connacht, Leinster, Munster, and Ulster), with its capital in Athlone.
RSF are extremely small and command almost no popular support.
Fianna Fail
Fianna Fail has supported reunification since its foundation as one of the party's key aims; however, in its history it has differed on how to accomplish it.
Fianna Fáil rejected the Anglo-Irish agreement which went on to become the basis for lasting peace and let the Republic of Ireland have a say in NI affairs for the first time. The Fianna Fáil leader, Charles Haughey, claimed the agreement was in conflict with Articles 2 and 3 of the Constitution of Ireland because it recognized Northern Ireland as part of the UK. It fully supports the Good Friday Agreement.
Progressive Democrats
The Progressive Democrats have supported reunification since its foundation but always said that a majority of the NI people would have to consent, it fully supports the Good Friday Agreement.
In April 1993, long before the Good Friday Agreement, Party Leader, Des O'Malley, in a major address on Northern Ireland to the Irish Association, spelled out a six point programme for peace and democratic progress in Northern Ireland, as follows:
1. Irish Government to accept need for Constitutional change in Articles 1, 2 and 3 to accord with the principle of unity by consent in Article 1 of Anglo Irish Agreement.
2. Acceptance of an Irish Dimension requiring new North South institutional links.
3. Nationalism must be made legally, institutionally and economically legitimate within Northern Ireland.
4. New Constitution, incorporating a Bill of Rights, for Northern Ireland.
5. Joint North South Security Agreement to combat terrorism.
6. Devolved power sharing Government in Northern Ireland.
Current party leader Mary Harney was expelled from Fianna Fail for supporting the first Anglo-Irish agreement which went on to become the basis of a lasting peace and let the Republic of Ireland have a say in NI affairs for the first time.
Progressive Democrat TD Liz O'Donnell was one of the key negotiators at the Good Friday Agreement talks.
Fine Gael
Fianna Gael has supported reunification since its foundation as one of the party's key aims; it fully supports the Good Friday Agreement.
The Anglo-Irish agreement was negotiated under and the Fine Gael Taoiseach, Garret FitzGerald.
Labour Party
The Labour party has supported reunification since its foundation however it always considerd the aim secondary to social causes, it fully supports the Good Friday Agreement.
It also supported the old Anglo-Irish agreement however future President of Ireland Mary Robinson resigned from the Irish Labour Party because she objected to the exclusion of unionists from the talks that led to the agreement.
Political consequences of Reunification
There would be major political effects from reunification, unionists would have a far more powerful voice in Dail Eireann than they do in the House of Commons and, if they merged with Fine Gael, would create a strong centre-right party to rival Fianna Fail.
Sinn Fein would also be much larger and present a major threat to both Fianna Fail and the Labour party making both weaker but both being its only potential coalition partners.
Smaller parties like the Progressive Democrats, Socialists and Green Party are unlikely to make much progress in Northern areas.
This would have the overall effect of having much more stable and stonger government in Ireland as there would be no more than two parties in charge at any one time.
Is is likely that there would be some changes to the Irish Republic to convince some unionists to vote yes in the reunification referendum, this could include:
(1)The Irish flag has been used by many terrorist organisations and would
probably have to be changed.
Three options are the old Irish flag of a green background with a gold harp or
the Presidential flag with blue background and gold harp or the St Patricks
Cross which consists of a red X across a white background, or a varation or
combination of any of the above.
(2)Ireland may rejoin the British Commonwealth to give unionists some attachment to their history.
(3) Northern Ireland may retain some or the same autonomy within a United Ireland as it has inside the UK.
Southern Irish parties are not likely to favour this as they view Northern
Ireland as a fundamentally flawed state.
(4) Some have suggested a strong provincial-based local government system to give Ulster a sense of autonomy but most view this as the full nine Ulster counties as opposed to the six that make up Northern Ireland.
(5) The Irish language would have to be removed as a requirement for University entry, and for police and civil service access and unionists would have to be able to opt out of it being taught in school.
(6) Articles 2 and 3 of the Irish constitution would have to be changed or deleted to represent the new situation as they aspire to a United Ireland that would already be in existence, some suggest they could be replaced with safeguards of cultural identity.
(7) As a minority they may be given disproportional representation in the Senate as a safeguard as the old southern unionists were.
(8) The very militaristic national anthem would have to be changed.
Economic consequences of Reunification
Ireland's economy would benefit from reunification in the long term, but there would be many short term problems, such as differences in taxation, how many NI civil service jobs to cut or retain, and the problem of unemployment, which is much more serious in the North; there are also many areas of NI that have suffered from a chronic lack of social and infrastructure investment.
While Northern Ireland's economy is based on heavy industry which is now outdated, the south's economy is based on services and technology; the Republic of Ireland would inherit all these problems.
Social consequences of Reunification
There would be a difficult transition for many from the north's free healthcare to Ireland's public medical card/private insurance mix. The education systems would also have to be merged but this would be a minor difficulty as second and primary level is similar; however, the North would experence free university education for the first time. There would also be problems with abortion laws which are polar opposites in both jurisdictions.
Likelihood of a United Ireland
The Good Friday agreement states that a majority of voters in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland would have to approve a United Ireland.
The Republic of Ireland is likely to approve it by at least 60%.
In Northern Ireland there are a few ways it could be accomplished:
(1) If, in time, nationalists became the majority. This is the most likely possiblity in the long term.
(2) Convincing existing Unionists of the merits of a United Ireland. This is extremely unlikely.
(3) Convincing a minority of existing unionists or moderates of a United Ireland. This is the most likely possiblity in the short term.
(4) If the United Kingdom were to break up Northern Ireland would not be viable alone and the British identity would no longer exist, therefore unionists would have to accept a United Ireland. This depends on the success of Welsh and Scottish nationalism.
A resumption of violence by republican groups would make a United Ireland impossible as it is likely that a new generation of unionist children would grow up to hate nationalists and their ideas.
A United Ireland will not even be on the agenda until two conditions are fulfilled:
(1) Loyalist and Republican terrorists groups have disbanded either in reality or in practice.
(2) The current Good Friday agreement is implemented in full.
