HOLDING a referendum on Irish unification could be possible under a Sinn Fein government if they win the next election, party leader Mary Lou McDonald has said.
McDonald said if Sinn Fein secures power following the next General Election in Ireland it would use its mandate to press the UK Government to clearly spell out the criteria for determining the threshold for triggering a vote on constitutional change in Northern Ireland.
One option Sinn Fein would consider if in government would be the creation of a minister of state role with responsibility for driving unity preparations, McDonald added.
Her party has long been calling for the current Irish government to establish a citizens’ assembly to examine what a unified island of Ireland might look like, including how public services would operate or how different traditions and cultures would be incorporated.
McDonald pledged that Sinn Fein would deliver on that if elected, and insisted any such forum would be designed to ensure unionist perspectives are fully heard.
In a wide-ranging interview with the PA news agency, the Sinn Fein president also signalled that, as Taoiseach, she would have no issue attending commemorative events associated with the Unionist tradition in Northern Ireland, such as Remembrance Sunday.
'Constructing a new Ireland'
McDonald said the current Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and Green Party coalition in Dublin should have already created a “democratic space” to begin conversations and preparations for “constitutional transition”.
“And certainly Sinn Fein in government would very proactively promote not just that conversation, but real preparations north and south – a real conversation between and across systems around how we maximise the huge opportunity that presents us,” she said.
She added: “There has to be a step-change in that regard, as regards a new Ireland, constructing a new Ireland and creating the drivers for that.”
Pressed on whether it was a realistic proposition that a border poll could be held within the lifetime of the next government in Ireland, McDonald (below) replied: “It could be. But it would certainly require a level of diligence and work.
“One thing for sure is, it will only happen if you have a government that’s actually serious about the proposition and actually fully understands what it can mean for Ireland, and who is ambitious to create that space and those opportunities for our people.”
Asked if the creation of a junior ministry for unification was a possibility under a Sinn Fein-led government, McDonald added “we will consider any and all of those approaches”.
'British government must be more transparent'
Under the terms of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, the Northern Ireland Secretary of the day is obliged to call a border poll if evidence points to a shift in public mood in favour of constitutional change.
The criteria for assessing public opinion has never been set out publicly, however.
“It’s a question that has been put to successive British prime ministers and they have thus far refused to set out in their view what’s the test, what’s the tipping point,” said McDonald.
“I think people deserve clarity on that point. And I would very much hope that a new British government and incoming British government would be more transparent on that question than has been the case so far.”
If the opinion polling of the last year is borne out when the votes are counted at a general election – one must be held before the spring of 2025 – then Sinn Fein will emerge as the largest party.
However, at that point, it would almost certainly still need to find smaller coalition partners to secure enough seats for a Dail majority.
McDonald rejected the suggestion that such a front-foot approach to unification may create difficulties when trying to find partners willing to sign up to an agreed programme for government.
“When you look at any of the political parties, each of them, at least rhetorically, say that they are for reunification,” she said.
