Irish government must act on growing support for Irish unity – Rose Conway-Walsh TD
10 February 2025
Sinn Féin spokesperson on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Rose Conway-Walsh TD, has welcomed the findings of an Irish Times/ARINS poll, which shows that support for Irish unity has grown significantly in the past three years.
Teachta Conway-Walsh said:
“I really welcome these findings which confirm that support for unity is growing, particularly in the north.
“This ongoing research on constitutional change is very important and should ramp up government action to do the work to prepare for a referendum on Irish Unity including the holding of citizens assemblies.
“It complements the work of civic groups like Ireland’s Future, the work that is being undertaken by the Oireachtas Good Friday Agreement (GFA) Committee as well as the action research work being done through universities here and internationally.
“This GFA Committee has examined the economic opportunities of reunification and the opportunities for women in the constitutional discussion.
“In the upcoming Dáil term it will build on that work by focusing on All-island healthcare, environment and natural resources, human rights and education/skills. Important documents have been published and I look forward to more evidence gathering and publications.
“In terms of the weekend’s polling, the most important point to note is that attitudes are changing, particularly in the north.
“What is clear is that more people now support unity than did 3 years ago when the survey began.
“If we delve deeper into the responses, we can see that attitudes are changing particularly within the unionist section of our community and I really welcome that.
“The united Ireland that Sinn Féin wants to build is for everyone, regardless of background or political persuasion.
“I am of the strong belief that reunification will unlock an economic dividend that would benefit the entire island economy. This is supported by many leading economists.
“The ERSI, in conjunction with business group IBEC, last month launched their macroeconomic model for the North. This will enable, for the first time, economic scenario planning across the whole country.
“I urge the Irish government to move from a position of discussion to a position of pro-active planning for the unity referendums as provided for in the Good Friday Agreement. The Programme for Government states that they “remain steadfast in implementing the Good Friday Agreement in full. This must include the unity referendum.”
