Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I hope we can put together a consultation-discussion process that will follow through on what we agreed here. There is never anything wrong with talking about these issues. I take the Deputy's point fully that there should never be a correlation. There will be no Border poll now. There is no evidence of a majority wanting to join the Republic. My point is a different one in that it is about catering for the future, in whatever number of years. If that were ever to be triggered, there is an opportunity to deal with that consequence in the discussions. That is all. It has nothing to do with immediacy in terms of a border poll. People of the Unionist persuasion are fully entitled to their views and there should not be a false understanding that there is some kind of an attempt to have an immediate border poll to pressurise them into joining the Republic of Ireland. That was never the intention and is not the case but in the interests of the island of Ireland and the people of Northern Ireland and the Republic, we should at least be able to discuss and hear their view of the challenges that will be faced now because of the consequence of the vote, particularly when Northern Ireland voted to remain a member of the European Union. We need to have a rational, commonsense, inclusive way of doing that and I hope we can get that going in the interests of everybody.

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