Joanne Collins (Sinn Fein)

When we talk about a united Ireland, people often imagine big constitutional debates and the big questions, but every fabric of our society is affected by constitutional change. If planned and prepared for, we can tackle it for the best outcome. An example of this can be seen today with farmers across the island who are looking at their herd wondering what is going to happen tomorrow. For farmers North and South, this week has brought real fear. Bluetongue, a disease spread by midges, was first confirmed in two cattle near Bangor. Now we are hearing that 44 more suspected cases are on the same holding. It does not affect humans but it hits animals and livelihoods hard, and it reminds us that nature does not see partition.

Here in the South, we are waiting for vaccines to be licensed. In the North, those vaccines can already be used if needed. Two farms maybe only a couple of fields apart are facing the same threat with different tools. That is the reality of division on this island. It is not a theoretical problem but one that could cost a family its incomes, its families and its future. When a crisis like this happens, farmers do not care about jurisdiction. They care about whether their animals can be protected. They care about whether their neighbours across the Border are facing the same rules, restrictions and risks. Surely we owe them better than a patchwork system where disease response depends on which side of the Border the wind blows the midge over.

A united Ireland, in whatever form it ultimately takes, offers something deeply practical: the ability to act together when a crisis strikes - one veterinary system, one vaccination policy, one island-wide plan for animal health, biosecurity and food security, not two competing regimes trying to chase the same disease across a Border that the disease itself does not recognise. Unity is not just an aspiration; it is a way to be smarter, safer and fairer. It means that for farmers in Donegal and Antrim, when the next outbreak comes - and it will come - we can respond to it as a one-island community, not as two separate administrations scrambling to co-ordinate under pressure. A united Ireland is not only about identity, it is about resilience. It is about the simple truth that we are stronger when we face into the storm together. If bluetongue has shown us anything this week, it is that challenges, for the future, will not wait for political alignment. They demand co-operation now and unity in the long term.