Life and Times survey of Northern Ireland population puts unification at 27%

mike65

Or if you prefer, 73% of respondents wish to maintain the union with Britain.
The 2010 survey was carried out between October 1, 2010 and December 18, 2010. 1,205 adults were interviewed.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jun/17/survey-sinn-fein-united-ireland

Fifty two per cent of Catholics living in Northern Ireland wanted that union to continue, while 35% said they desired a united Ireland.

Overall, 73% of respondents to the Life and Times survey – one of the main polling bodies in the province – said they wished to stay in the UK rather than link up with Dublin.

Although both Sinn Féin and the smaller nationalist SDLP party questioned the accuracy of the poll, the Life and Times survey was commissioned by the office of the first and deputy first minister at Stormont, jointly headed by Martin McGuinness and Peter Robinson.

In successive Life and Times surveys since 2008, a majority of Catholics taking part have indicated a preference for staying in the UK. Over the last few years, the Irish Republic has been perceived to be less attractive to northerners following Dublin's fiscal crisis and the ongoing recession.

An overwhelming number of Protestants in the north of Ireland continue to support the maintenance of the union with Britain. Only 4% of northern Protestants opted for Irish unity in the poll.

better numbers breakdown here

Obligatory opinion bit of OP, I suppose this will calm Unionist nerves if there were any and frustrate Sinn Fein. It also suggests that there can be no assumptions about breeding ones way to a unity majority and that the economy really does matter.

nesf

Unsurprising tbh.

Cookie_Monster

I would question how much the financial disaster here contributed to people opinion given the timing of the survey.

At the current time why would anyone want to leave the UK for here

matthew8

Really shows up the bs idea that we'd be liberating them from Britain. A poll on independence would be interesting though.

KeithAFC

Interesting poll and obviously the right direction. It seems the agenda is not working.

Dun

Direction? Towards the cash flow. Understandable in these times.

Cookie_Monster

KeithAFC wrote: »

It seems the agenda is not working.

the agenda, what one would that be then?

KeithAFC

Cookie_Monster wrote: »

the agenda, what one would that be then?

Sinn Feins agenda to spoof, the whole manifesto on a UI they did before the general election, and the lack of thrust behind the Republican movement in N.I at the moment.

Iwasfrozen

Well now, this is interesting. Hopefully it'll put pay to those silly nationalist notions that a united Ireland is inevitable.

FUNKY LOVER

1200 adults,wow that really shows what everyone in the 6 counties want.i have just done my own poll there and 100 per cent want a ui.seriously why do people assume these polls are honest?

Cookie_Monster

So was there an option for "stand on our own" or was it just a) Ireland b)UK

I find it interesting that the North wants to stay closer to the UK while Wales and Scotland both seem to be moving away from the union to a greater level of independence.

@ Keith would you rather see the North as its own country or remain affiliate with the UK?

Boulevardier

I think that if we (1) built a decent health service, and (2) signalled our willingness to compromise on national identity, e.g by joining the Commonwealth, then things might start to change.

In any case, it makes you wonder what SF thought they had to gain, as Republicans, from the peace process. They seem to have gained nothing.

Gunsfortoys

KeithAFC wrote: »

Sinn Feins agenda to spoof, the whole manifesto on a UI they did before the general election, and the lack of thrust behind the Republican movement in N.I at the moment.

How would "spoofing" voters in R.O.I. about people in N.I. wanting a United Ireland, gain any kind of extra seats or votes in R.O.I.? It is wholly up to the people of the North to decide whether they want unification.

Again another attempt at Sinn Fein bashing. Although what's new?

getz

Gunsfortoys wrote: »

How would "spoofing" voters in R.O.I. about people in N.I. wanting a United Ireland, gain any kind of extra seats or votes in R.O.I.? It is wholly up to the people of the North to decide whether they want unification.

Again another attempt at Sinn Fein bashing. Although what's new?

the daft thing is that once ireland is unified,most of the republicans will be running over to the UK to live and work,because the goverment is the norths biggest employer

KeithAFC

Boulevardier wrote: »

I think that if we (1) built a decent health service, and (2) signalled our willingness to compromise on national identity, e.g by joining the Commonwealth, then things might start to change.

In any case, it makes you wonder what SF thought they had to gain, as Republicans, from the peace process. They seem to have gained nothing.

That is funny because i sometimes hear loyalists saying that and i try to tell them that we now have Sinn Fein administering British rule and the majority backing the Union.

How would "spoofing" voters in R.O.I. about people in N.I. wanting a United Ireland, gain any kind of extra seats or votes in R.O.I.? It is wholly up to the people of the North to decide whether they want unification.

Again another attempt at Sinn Fein bashing. Although what's new?

The Irish people in the Republic will not get carried away with the Sinn Fein hype in the ROI. The next general election will probably be worse for them as i think (or hope for your countries sake) that you would be in a better position as a country.

Gunsfortoys

KeithAFC wrote: »

The Irish people in the Republic will not get carried away with the Sinn Fein hype in the ROI. The next general election will probably be worse for them as i think (or hope for your countries sake) that you would be in a better position as a country.

Sinn Fein hype?

Not everyone in the R.O.I. are concerned with the probability of a United Ireland.

Wolfe Tone

The survey threw up some curious answers on voting intentions. It found that DUP support was 18%, well below the 38% the party secured in last month’s Assembly elections.

By contrast the UUP scored 16% in both the poll and the actual election. On the nationalist side the SDLP, on 17%, was comfortably ahead of Sinn Fein’s 11%. In the election the roles were reversed with Sinn Fein scoring 29% and the SDLP 14%.

Thats very interesting imo.

Doesn't seem the most accurate of polls does it? Only 1,205 asked?

mike65

Standard poll size. Actually its a bit bigger, most are about 1000 with +/- error margin of 3%.

Wolfe Tone

mike65 wrote: »

Standard poll size. Actually its a bit bigger, most are about 1000 with +/- error margin of 3%.

But the fact that those figures I quoted are so incredibly wrong, certainly suggests that the survey is very inaccurate does it not? It certainly got what party people would vote for very wrong didn't it?

LeeroyJones

The result of polls can be predetermined by those carrying them out. It's no secret that you can phrase a question to get the desired answer.

I'm not saying there is more support for a United Ireland nor that there is less.... just that you need to take polls with a pinch of salt.

amacachi

Wolfe Tone wrote: »

But the fact that those figures I quoted are so incredibly wrong, certainly suggests that the survey is very inaccurate does it not? It certainly got what party people would vote for very wrong didn't it?

Turnout would be a major factor especially since a lot of places are very predictable.

AG2R

I've got alot of family up the north as my dad is from Armagh. So this is far from a surprise to me tbh. Yes all my family up their would consider themselves to be Irish and carry both passports but do they want a "United Ireland" yes in theory but not in practice. They standard of living is far greater up the North than it is down here with the free health care and cheaper costs.

sollar

So if those figures are to be believed would the loyalists starting up killing catholics again actually weaken the union this time round.

KeithAFC

Gunsfortoys wrote: »

Sinn Fein hype?

Not everyone in the R.O.I. are concerned with the probability of a United Ireland.

I understand that. But you did have SF voters bigging up SF after the ROI general election and getting carried away. When if you think about it, if the ROI improves, SF might not even have as many votes at the next general election.

thebman

KeithAFC wrote: »

I understand that. But you did have SF voters bigging up SF after the ROI general election and getting carried away. When if you think about it, if the ROI improves, SF might not even have as many votes at the next general election.

If we improve, it won't be by much, the real question is will the parties elected on a slogan of change provide the required change.

If they fail on this promise, the hard left will rise as there is nobody else left to vote for.

If they succeed, then Sinn Fein may lose support. At the moment though, I think its going Sinn Fein's way.

What Sinn Fein should do is ask the people that have voted for them in the last election that didn't do so previously if the issue of NI is actually relevant to why they voted for them at all. I imagine new support couldn't really give a toss about the North.

Dub.

Interesting. This poll seems to suggest that all sdlp voters are secret unionists.

NSNO

Dub. wrote: »

Interesting. This poll seems to suggest that all sdlp voters are secret unionists.

Or at least that the Union is a far less pressing concern than employment, education and job prospects.


The normalisation of politics in the North has made the issue of the Union an irrelevancy. That can only be a good thing.

Wolfe Tone

Dub. wrote: »

Interesting. This poll seems to suggest that all sdlp voters are secret unionists.

It also says that SF are 18% less popular than they actually are.

Permabear

This post has been deleted.

Wolfe Tone

Permabear wrote: »

This post had been deleted.

When I said accurate I was referring to the levels of support for political parties which were way off. Why is that? The results for that are not "quite accurate".

If it had 86% for a UI and it put, say, SF support at a level way higher than it turned out in elections I dare say you or others would question the survey accuracy.

KeithAFC

Permabear wrote: »

This post had been deleted.

The longer the years go by, the chances of a UI are slimmer in that a new identity grows, many people now refer to themselves as Northern Irish, than just Irish or British. More mixed marriages and thus will probably effect political thinking.

What is on offer from the Irish Republican movement is not just good enough for the vast majority of people in Northern Ireland. The arguments to join the 26 Irish counties are weak and of no substance. I expect the Catholic numbers in this regard to being in favour of the Union to grow in the next 5 years too.


The Protestant view is always pretty much the same in regards to the Union, like I have always been saying.

irishh_bob

AG2R wrote: »

I've got alot of family up the north as my dad is from Armagh. So this is far from a surprise to me tbh. Yes all my family up their would consider themselves to be Irish and carry both passports but do they want a "United Ireland" yes in theory but not in practice. They standard of living is far greater up the North than it is down here with the free health care and cheaper costs.

lower wages , lower wellfare surely balance out the NHS , health care is free for lots of people down here , the unemployed , the elderly etc

steddyeddy

I think a united Ireland will happen someday simply because it makes sense. At the moment I wish them well In any choice they make.

EggsAckley

Win, win I'd say

danbohan

Permabear wrote: »

This post had been deleted.

If 86 percent of those polled had said they were in favour of a United Ireland, would you be nitpicking over methodology?

if 86% of those polled wanted a united Ireland you would be proclaiming it irrelevant and due to scare tactics by the provos, like that old flag waving thing that frightening you so much at election time

windsurfer99ie

FUNKY LOVER wrote: »

1200 adults,wow that really shows what everyone in the 6 counties want.i have just done my own poll there and 100 per cent want a ui.seriously why do people assume these polls are honest?

Providing the sample was chosen randomly (yours was not), then using the statistical calculator at http://www.surveysystem.com/sscalc.htm

with the following parameters:

confidence level 95%
sample size 1200 (approx sample size)
population size 1,750,000 (approx population of NI)
percentage 73%
(the percentage who according to the survey want to remain in UK)

the confidence interval comes out at 2.51


i.e. we can be 95% confident that the percentage of the whole population in NI that want to remain in the UK is between 70.5% and 75.5% .

anymore

mike65 wrote: »

Or if you prefer, 73% of respondents wish to maintain the union with Britain.
The 2010 survey was carried out between October 1, 2010 and December 18, 2010. 1,205 adults were interviewed.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jun/17/survey-sinn-fein-united-ireland



better numbers breakdown here

Obligatory opinion bit of OP, I suppose this will calm Unionist nerves if there were any and frustrate Sinn Fein. It also suggests that there can be no assumptions about breeding ones way to a unity majority and that the economy really does matter.

I wonder what a survey would show if the good people of England decided that they were no longer going to treat the six counties like some insatiable Cuckoo chick that had to be massively subsidised for every day of it's existence ? As the memories of the troubles fade, the point will be reached where English people will start asking themselves if they want the Six Counties to be part of the United Kingdom !:p

windsurfer99ie

FUNKY LOVER wrote: »

1200 adults,wow that really shows what everyone in the 6 counties want.i have just done my own poll there and 100 per cent want a ui.seriously why do people assume these polls are honest?

Providing the sample was chosen randomly (yours was not), then using the statistical calculator at http://www.surveysystem.com/sscalc.htm

with the following parameters:

confidence level 95%
sample size 1200 (approx sample size)
population size 1,750,000 (approx population of NI)
percentage 73%
(the percentage who according to the survey want to remain in UK)

the confidence interval comes out at 2.51


i.e. we can be 95% confident that the percentage of the whole population in NI that want to remain in the UK is between 70.5% and 75.5% .

PatsytheNazi

mike65 wrote: »

Standard poll size. Actually its a bit bigger, most are about 1000 with +/- error margin of 3%.

windsurfer99ie wrote: »

Providing the sample was chosen randomly (yours was not), then using the statistical calculator at http://www.surveysystem.com/sscalc.htm

with the following parameters:

confidence level 95%

sample size 1200 (approx sample size)

population size 1,750,000 (approx population of NI)

percentage 73%

(the percentage who according to the survey want to remain in UK)

the confidence interval comes out at 2.51

i.e. we can be 95% confident that the percentage of the whole population in NI that want to remain in the UK is between 70.5% and 75.5% .

The NILT is a survey :rolleyes: Governments, referendums etc are decided by the voting public, they are not decided by the NILT survey And just to show how inaccurate the survey is -

Political party support : DUP 18%, SDLP 17%, UUP 16%, Sinn Fein 11%, Alliance 10%
http://www.ark.ac.uk/nilt/2010/Political_Attitudes/POLPART2.html

And how people voted : DUP 24.96%, SDLP 16.47%, UUP 15.19%, SF 25.52
Clearly their's quite a bias against SF, and to a lesser extent the DUP. How anyone can imagine the survey is an accurate reflection and prediction is nothing other than unionism grasping at straws - yet again “

PatsytheNazi

AG2R wrote: »

I've got alot of family up the north as my dad is from Armagh. So this is far from a surprise to me tbh. Yes all my family up their would consider themselves to be Irish and carry both passports but do they want a "United Ireland" yes in theory but not in practice. They standard of living is far greater up the North than it is down here with the free health care and cheaper costs.

irishh_bob wrote: »

lower wages , lower wellfare surely balance out the NHS , health care is free for lots of people down here , the unemployed , the elderly etc

Yes Bob, it's amazing how we get some coming on here claiming to be nationalists and haven't a decent word to say about the country, it's hardly our unionist friends doing their bit for wee Ulster !!!

Anyway,UN Human index 2010 Ireland 5th, and that utopia the UK 26th behind Greece at 22 !!!!
http://hdr.undp.org/en/statistics/

RMD

anymore wrote: »

I wonder what a survey would show if the good people of England decided that they were no longer going to treat the six counties like some insatiable Cuckoo chick that had to be massively subsidised for every day of it's existence ? As the memories of the troubles fade, the point will be reached where English people will start asking themselves if they want the Six Counties to be part of the United Kingdom !:p

Well why would we want them either? Take on that an economic parasite when we're economically fúcked ourselves? Not to mention the ensuing Loyalist violence that would follow.

United Ireland sounds great in theory, but in a practical sense it's a ridiculous idea.

thebman

Well yes I guess when sampling is such a divided society, one would need to know how they picked the people surveyed.

Was it focused on a particular city for example.

I don't know who Life and Times are but you could also analyse their ability to choose a neutral sample set if they lean in a particular direction, it could cause them to put bias in the survey even unknowingly by selecting the wrong locations or the people doing the survey only asking a certain type of person.

Hell even the time of day it was done could cause bias given the weird setup in NI, I'm sure there are probably statistics somewhere that show a certain type of person having certain leanings being home during the day for example.

Really depends on lots of things in such a society with such divisions as the North.

Dub.

Rubbish poll, and totally unrepresentative of the views of northerners.

Iwasfrozen

Dub. wrote: »

Rubbish poll, and totally unrepresentative of the views of northerners.

It's a perfectly reasonable poll with no sign of foul play on the behalf of the pollers. You can't just call something rubbish because you don't agree with it. Instead you should be asking yourself why catholics are turning away from nationalism and what can be done to stop it.

Richard

sollar wrote: »

So if those figures are to be believed would the loyalists starting up killing catholics again actually weaken the union this time round.

Loyalists killing Catholics has always weakened the union. Aside from the evil nature of killing and the hurt it causes.

Dub.

Iwasfrozen wrote: »

It's a perfectly reasonable poll with no sign of foul play on the behalf of the pollers. You can't just call something rubbish because you don't agree with it. Instead you should be asking yourself why catholics are turning away from nationalism and what can be done to stop it.

It`s a rubbish poll because it is unrepresentative of the facts.

pablomakaveli

Wasn't there reports of people from the loyalist community voting Sinn Fein in the elections? Might explain the difference in the percentages for party support.

sanbrafyffe

look folks a u.i will not happen for years,,,right fair enof i agree with the nationalists wanting to stay with the union as we dont have alot to offer them but when we get this great country up and running it will be more appeling then,,,there was a survey a while back i cant think of the name of it but it was more aless the same,,,half of the nationalist community stated they prefer the union as its safer at the moment but they did state that '''they have no love affair with london'''

now with scotland nearly independent things could change as unionists will not feel the union important as when scotland was in it

i have no doubt that a u i will happen but will take many years yet

charlemont

Its really up to the people in the 6 counties to choose and the simple fact is the Republic did little in its years of existence to persuade the majority above to join.

As much as I hate to say it, The North is probably better off at the moment, Anyhow its really the best of both worlds as its still Ireland anyway and has Britain to pay for it.

I wouldn't expect anyone to want to join the Republic as it currently is, Its a whole new country we need born out of the two administrations.

KeithAFC

charlemont wrote: »

Its really up to the people in the 6 counties to choose and the simple fact is the Republic did little in its years of existence to persuade the majority above to join.

As much as I hate to say it, The North is probably better off at the moment, Anyhow its really the best of both worlds as its still Ireland anyway and has Britain to pay for it.

I wouldn't expect anyone to want to join the Republic as it currently is, Its a whole new country we need born out of the two administrations.

Never mind Catholics or people with a Republican view point, 90% of Protestants on that poll against it is a hell of a lot. Things like 2006 riots in Dublin didn't help that of course.

Hannibal

Uniting Ireland – Together is better

I want to welcome all of you here today.
Ba mhaith liom aitheantas speisialta a thabhairt d’ár gcomhordaitheoir ar Éire Aontaithe, Lucilita Bhreathnach agus an foireann a bhí ag obair leí le roinnt míonna chun an comhdháil seo a chuir le chéile; an comhdháil i gCorcaigh ar an tseachtain seo chugainn agus atá ag eagrú comhdháil i nGaillimh i mí Dheireadh Fómhair agus sa tuaisceart níos moille i mbliana.

These conferences are part of a strategy by Sinn Féin to raise awareness and encourage a national conversation around the goal of a United Ireland and create inclusive platforms for an engagement on this crucially important issue.
In recent years Sinn Féin has held conferences in London, in the United States and in Canada.

These were part of a process of consciously reaching out to the millions who make up the Irish diaspora.

All of the conferences were well attended and have generated activity and momentum around the Uniting Ireland project.

Our friends in Irish America have been particularly successful and resolutions in support of Irish unity have been passed at State, County and City levels in many areas.

Beidh ról an diaspóra, mar a bhí leis na céadta bliain anuas, rí-thábhachtach chun Aontacht na hÉireann a bhrú ar aghaidh agus a thabhairt chun críche.

But of course, it is here on this island that the arguments and debates and persuasion must take place.

This conference, and the one in Monaghan last November is a part of that process.
And it is appropriate that it is held here in the Rotunda.

This is in the heart of Dublin.

Is ann sa chathair seo a bhí an Ghluaiseacht Éireannaigh Aontaithe ag pleanáil agus ag cumadh éirigh amach; an áit ar eagraigh Éire Óg agus na Fíníní agus an áit ar thárla Éirigh Amach 1916.

All around us are the streets and lanes and buildings that are the backdrop to the Easter Rising.

A few yards away is the place where Tom Clarke’s shop was, and where the IRB leadership frequently met and planned the Rising.

The GPO is a few minutes walk down O Connell Street, and behind it is Moore Street, where, after days of bitter fighting, the remaining leaders of the Rising met in number 16 and agreed the surrender.

Outside these walls the Volunteers of that era defiantly paraded to the British held barricades and from there to prisons and prison camps in Britain.

On the edge of the Rotunda is the spot where British soldiers stripped Tom Clarke naked after his capture in an effort to humiliate him.

But Tom had endured worse in his 15 years in English prisons.

And behind us is the Garden of Remembrance.

A place of pilgrimage for those who wish to pay their respects to the fallen heroes of Irish’s long struggle for independence and freedom.

It was here that the English Queen came a short time ago to lay a wreath in honour of those brave men and women who died for Irish freedom.

Many of the heroes remembered there were executed by British crown forces.

The laying of the wreath was a recognition that they fought in a just cause.

The Irish Government and the other political parties in this state know that their sacrifices were not for a partitioned Ireland or a 26 County Republic, though they rarely admit it.

But of equal significance was the Proclamation, read that Easter Monday by Padraig Pearse, standing outside the GPO.
The principles and values, the philosophy and ideals which it aspired to are what inspire this generation of Irish republicans.

It is a freedom charter for this whole island and all the people who live here.

It guarantees religious and civil liberty and is avowedly anti-sectarian.

It promotes equal rights and equal opportunities for all citizens.

And at a time when women did not have the vote it supported universal suffrage.

The Proclamation sets the standard by which the modern Ireland of today must be judged.

It was a Proclamation for all of the Irish people – not some.

It was for whole of the island – not a part.

Those who took up arms that spring week in 1916 knew of the danger posed by the threat of partition and where against it.

Connolly in particular had famously warned against it. He argued that partition ‘would mean a carnival of reaction both North and South, would set back the wheels of progress, would destroy the oncoming unity of the Irish Labour movement and paralyse all advanced movements whilst it endured’.

Ach ní raibh siad siúd a d’Éirigh Amach beo le cosaint a dhéanamh ar an Fhorógra agus ar neamhspléachas na hÉireann nuair a tharla an deighilt.

In the 90 years since partition it has distorted and infected politics and economics on this island.

Partition established two conservative states ruled by two conservative elites.

Corruption was soon rife and those in control ruled in their own self-interest and lined their pockets at the expense of others.

On this small island of some six million people two states and two governments were created.

There is a significant duplication of public and private services, two sets of currencies, and two tax systems, laws and regulations.

It makes no sense politically, economically or socially except as it was at that time – part of a counter revolution.

Much has changed since then and today, and at a time when every cent or pence is needed to rebuild the economy, this duplication of government and public services is wasteful and costly.

The most recent live register figures for this state show that there are at least 443,400 people unemployed while in the north the figure is around 60,000.
At the same time 50,000, mainly young people, will emigrate this year – 1,000 each week.

There is an opportunity to change all of this.

It is inefficient that on an island this small there are two contending political systems; two health services; two education structures; and two economic systems competing with each other for jobs and investment.

The Good Friday Agreement provides a roadmap to build all-island approaches.

Already there are many who accept the logic of an all-island economy, in which all of our interests in health, the environment, education, agriculture, transport, job creation, taxation and strategic investment, are planned together.

Uniting Ireland makes sense. Together is better.

Sinn Féin is about building that new Ireland for the 21st century.
Poblacht 32 contae a chumhdaíonn prionsabail féinchinnidh agus cearta, prionsabail comhionnanais agus daonlathais, prionsabail a spreag cuid laochra 1916.

Sinn Féin seeks to erase the border and its adverse impact on the lives of citizens, through practical co-operation and imaginative policies, including the full utilization of the all-island institutions that were created by the Good Friday Agreement.

In the negotiations which led to the Good Friday Agreement Sinn Fein succeeded in getting the British to scrap the Government of Ireland Act through which it claimed jurisdiction over a part of Ireland.
This was a significant development.

Last week in his speech to the Assembly the British Prime Minister David Cameron repeated this position.

He said, ‘as the Agreement makes very clear’, the constitutional future of the north does not rest in his hands or those of his government but in the hands of the people.
As a unionist Mr. Cameron made his preference clear but he was equally frank in his public declaration that the British government will always back the democratic wishes of the people whether ‘to remain part of the United Kingdom, as is my strong wish…or whether it’s to be part of a united Ireland’.

Later when he was privately challenged on this by the leader of the UUP the British Prime Minister stuck by this position.

The reality is that contrary to Margaret Thatcher’s claim many years ago, the north is not as British as Finchley!

The Good Friday Agreement and subsequent agreements have mapped out a legislative and democratic route toward uniting Ireland.

Is é an tasc atá againne mar phoblachtaigh ná tógáil ar an deis seo agus an neart pholaitiúil a chruthú i dtreo an Phoblacht nua.

That means creating a national – all-island – conversation about the kind of new Ireland citizens want to serve the common interest.

This debate shouldn’t be confined to the failed political boundaries set by partition.

A new Ireland must be fully inclusive. That means reaching out to unionists and seeking to persuade them that their interests will be better served in a United Ireland.
Sinn Féin wants a republic.

Our belief is that the interests of citizens and society on this island will be best served by a republican system of governance based on the rights of people.

But that is a matter for the people to decide.

There are other models which can be considered, including federal arrangements.
They could serve transitional measures or as governmental systems in their own right.

It is also important that as part of this process of building a new future that there is an effective process of dealing with all legacy issues.

In Sinn Féin’s view the Irish and British governments should invite a reputable and independent international body to establish the creation of an Independent International Truth Commission as part of an effective truth recovery process.

A key part of the debate about the future must be a discussion with unionists about what they mean by Britishness and how a new Ireland – whether or not it is a Republic - can accommodate this.

It also means mapping out the steps necessary in the time ahead to progress toward uniting Ireland.

For example:
The Taoiseach commissioning a Green Paper on Irish unity which would address all aspects of this national and democratic project including its political, social, economic, cultural, legal, administrative and international dimensions.
A Joint Committee of the Oireachtas on Irish Unity to monitor, assess and report progress on its implementation should be established.
And a new constitution – discussed and debated and agreed by all sections of people on this island, which would enshrine citizens rights in law.

There is a yearning in Ireland today for a new way forward.

Citizens north and south are looking for something new.

Tá siad ag cuardach modh nua chun ár bpolaitíocht agus ár eacnamaíocht a bhainistiú.

Tá siad ag iarraidh saoránaigh a chumasú.

They want a society which is equitable and just.

The 1916 Proclamation is the template for this.

It used language that was appropriate for that time.

We need a new all-Ireland constitution that enshrines the principles and ideals of 1916 and gives expression to them for the 21st century.

Real social, economic and political change is not easily achieved but all those who have a genuine commitment towards building an Irish Republic worthy of the name must work together towards that end.

That work can start now


Gerry Adams,speaking today in Dublin