Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have to say I agree. I think that is the key issue. It is up to all of us to put the proposition out there. The difficulty, obviously, is to get unionists to engage with that, or even to talk in a formal or informal way about it. One of the points that has been put to me - I think Senator Blaney touched on it - relates to trying to find something we can all agree on. For example, can we advance a proposition on which unionists and nationalists on the whole island, North and South, can agree and which will improve health services for everybody? Can we build a new internationally renowned university, a third level institution that everybody can sign up to, in the north west? Can we improve our transport connectivity? I suppose it goes back to the shared island concept. Those of us in government in the South are putting in a significant amount of money to show the good faith we have in this regard, and we would put a lot more in. To me, that is the way you will get a new island - a new relationship that will not result in the equivalent of an IRA campaign on the extreme unionist side. If you force people into a united Ireland by a majority of one, or even a majority of 2,000 or 3,000, you are going to face generations of hostility and division. Notwithstanding the majority of one, there must be a meeting of minds. That is my opinion on it.