Paul Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. Murphy for her very broad and eye-opening analysis. As Senator Joe O'Reilly said, we have been here for a long time. I will not say all but practically all of the previous contributions were from an economic angle. It is great to get Dr. Murphy's insight into the social, cultural and personal aspects. She has definitely showed that she has an in-depth understanding of and feel for them.

I would like to tease out a couple of ideas. We mentioned a Border poll and an all-island approach. From the outset, some jumped on the bandwagon that this was an ideal opportunity to have a united Ireland. As Dr. Murphy rightly said and as has been said here, we need to bring everybody along. The original plan was that everybody would come along and that a united Ireland would be acceptable to everybody, if and when it ever came about. Most of the emphasis on Brexit has been on the economic side and it will probably be the most defining factor. After the vote, we have seen a rush for Irish passports from the most unlikely of sources.

Because of the right given in the Good Friday Agreement, people, who never thought they might do such a thing, see the benefit now post Brexit of having an Irish passport and thereby access to greater Europe because that Irish passport would in essence keep them as European citizens.

I believe Senator Craughwell said that at the end of the day, when push comes to shove to the most unionist person in the North the crown that is most important is the half-crown. From an economic point of view, if there is a hard Brexit and the majority of people in the North see that economically they would be better off aligned to the South, could that be even more divisive up there, in the sense that that will cream off the most liberal leaving the most conservative almost alienated? Therefore there would not be the dilution of any one belief or one movement; there would be very extreme sectors left that will not yield but probably would have been diluted or brought along over a longer period of progression towards the eventuality of a united Ireland. However, if it happens as a knee-jerk reaction for economic reasons, could it actually bring us back even further than we were? I am painting worst-case scenario here.