Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Last Friday, I attended the launch of a legal and academic report on making a case for Irish unity in the EU.I commend Professor Colin Harvey and Mark Bassett on their outstanding work on this important report and other reports. As we all know, in 2017 the Irish Government asked the European Council to acknowledge two matters: that the Good Friday Agreement provides the mechanism through which a united Ireland will be brought about through peaceful and democratic means and, significantly, that in accordance with international law the entire territory of a new united Ireland will become part of the European Union. First and foremost, the responsibility of planning and preparing for Irish unity rests with the Irish Government. Constitutional change and Irish reunification is the defining issue of our generation. Such things as the cost of unity, the future of our health service, governance, taxation, public services and pensions, and the all-important place of unionists in a new Ireland should be discussed by a citizens' assembly.

There is also work that can and should be undertaken in Brussels. The European Parliament could explicitly endorse the European Council decision made in 2017. It could also consider the level of representation that a united Ireland would have in the European Parliament, how we could ensure voting rights and indeed movement for British citizens here in Ireland, and what transitional arrangements would be needed in the event of a united Ireland. Work on those questions can start now because the return of the North to the European Union remains underexplored. If Irish unity offers the only pathway back to EU membership for people in the North of Ireland, which would include all of the rights attaching to EU citizenship and indeed the North once again making a full contribution to the democracy of the EU and contributing to and receiving European funds, I wonder whether there is a role that the Seanad can play in supporting our colleagues in the European Parliament. I suggest that we develop that conversation in this Chamber.