Northern Ireland is now Catholic Majority

I think in this case proponents of a united Ireland will have to include continuing with the Stormont infrastructure so that NI would contine with its own devolved parliament. Thats the only model for UI to include NI only that I can see.

Historically that's certainly true, but as the NHS continues to wither on the vine I've noticed a marked drop in how much of an issue this is to people and it continues to fall.

I've extensive experience with both systems and I've not missed the NHS for a day since moving out of the North. If I was moving today I'd miss it even less.

Cull the civil service by natural wastage then. Employers in private sector crying out for staff. Employment not an issue.

On the whole economic argument. The south has no natural resources over the north. The south used its advantages of being able to set a low corperatation tax to win FDI. Angel Merkel as part of brexit insisited should there be a UI then it will be treated in the same way as the ROI is now within EU. Ie the north will be able to have the same competitive corperatation tax as the south. Cant see why the north wont catch up very quickly with the south.

People when discussing the economic argument always seem to think NI will be perpetually a economic burden. Why??? Look a few miles to south and see how it successfully the south turned it around since the 1980's. The north will have the exact same opertunities as the south and given it has the second largest city in Ireland and dublin is bursting at the seams it will get FDI very quickly.

We may have a devolved UI but that jurisdiction of NI is toxic. It has to go. One of the main reasons people would vote for a UI in the north is to end NI not keep it alive. It has too much baggage in its history. A UI needs to be a fresh start. Even some people up north dont like the history of the ROI. So why weld two disliked jurisdictions of ROI and NI together to create a "new" country. If it is devolved new fresh boundaries need to be created that dont have all the negative history.

A devolved NI does not even function in the UK. Why woud it be different in a UI.

NI has a shameful history of sectarianism. The ROI has a shameful history of letting the Catholic church run riot. Kill them both and create a new fresh state without the historical baggage.

I agree with you and have been making this point for years.

It started with the 2011 census which showed that there are now three minorities in the North - a British one, an Irish one and a Northern Irish one. Convincing the Northern Irish minority to support a united Ireland involves two things, firstly an unanswerable economic argument and secondly, retention of the Northern Ireland devolution within a federal or other overarching structure.

A border poll on those terms could be won tomorrow. A border poll for a single unitary state, as favoured by the exclusionary nationalists, might never pass.

No respect. A legitimate political party is debatable.

I have no respect for Le Pen's National Rally party either, or various other extreme right-wing parties. SF is just another version of them from a different political perspective, controlled by a cabal of old men in Belfast.

SF are not getting into government anytime soon in the South, as no other party will do business with them.

Where is this idea that Northern Ireland is a socialist utopia come from?

They may have free doctors, but the people are poorer, lower paid and have shorter life spans than in Ireland.

Social welfare payments in Ireland are also much higher in Ireland than in Northern Ireland.

Either way, all of these issues can be worked out and resolved with various steps.

For example your point about education, which is also free in Ireland, has been tackled already as in the news today is that the budget tomorrow will announce free school books for all primary schools from next year.

Much better in the Republic and you don't need anecdotes to prove it. Look at average life expectancy and average outcomes for major illnesses such as cancer etc. The Republic has far better health generally.

Support from the EU and the USA will be negligible. As for the British taxpayer, they will want a dividend from getting Northern Ireland off their hands, not a continuing subsidy.

The costs for the first 20 years will be a huge burden on the normal Irish person.

There'e really nothing to back up with you are saying.

Who said there would be a subsidy from Britain forever?

There will be phased economic support and from various bodies and I don't believe the EU contribution would be negligible.

Also I believe there would be a huge economic dividend from ending of partition which has damaged Ireland's economy and as I said the economy in the North will change and be managed differently and the burden of civil service would ease.

You can't just drop a comment like that without back up fella, this is not Reddit.

I don't recall East Germany having a sizable chunk of the population that claimed they were Soviets, Russian, etc and wanted to remain part of another country.

We have a crumbling health system, a total lack of very necessary social housing, a not fit for purpose education system, but yeah we are rich and prosperous.

We are a very rich country on paper a bit like a lot of Irish were millionaires back in 2007.

We have fook all indigenous industry bar agri that every fooker wants to crucify these days.

We almost totally rely on FDI.

Germany on the other hand.

Hmmm I can think of loads of indigenous German multinationals that aren't simply there because of low tax regime.

Germany had a government debt of 20% of GDP in 1990.

Ireland in 2021 had a government debt of 56% of GDP.

Would all these serious economic studies that paints such a rosy economic outlook all come from one camp ?

It won't work that way. Northern Ireland is of great interest to the EU and USA.

Both are fully behind the Good Friday agreement and NI uniting with Ireland will be a huge geo-political event and the EU will want it to be a success and will be behind it. Funds will certainly be available.

What has being on the edge of the Atlantic mean or matter?

Ireland is a fully signed up member of the EU. Have you noticed how the EU backed Ireland fully in relation to Brexit and the border?

The USA was integral and vital to the signing of the Good Friday agreement in 1998 and even now the US government is telling the UK not to mess up the the agreement and introduce a border again.

There is large political and economic interest in this.