Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness
The British government has a “democratic imperative” to call a referendum on whether Northern Ireland should leave the United Kingdom and unite with the Irish Republic, the province’s Irish nationalist Deputy First Minister said on Friday.
“The British government now has no democratic mandate to represent the views of the North in any future negotiations with the European Union and I do believe that there is a democratic imperative for a ‘border poll’ to be held,” Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness told national Irish broadcaster RTE.
Northern Irish deputy leader calls for vote on united Ireland (Reuters)
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A border poll would be the actual craic.
Mad bantz altogether.
Ireland needs to stick with Britain……. We should even consider a move to Sterling.
Don’t be absurd. We’re the only English speaking country in both the Euro and the EU and we can use that to draw US companies and jobs out of the UK. Our future lies with Europe, not with the isolationists next door.
+1 They’re IFSC might be about to become a lot bigger.
Definitely. Assuming Britain leaves the EEA and gets a trade agreement, which is the expected outcome of this vote, then financial trades between London and the EU will no longer be possible asthey are not covered under trade agreements so the banks will be moving here.
The problem is housing workers… Right now we can’t.
Much as it pains us, we need incentives for builders to build
The urgent need for good planning – on all levels – and the unlikelhood of any actually happening makes me despair.
True, but we’re facing 2 years of negotiations so we have time to buld. Really we should be looking at building an IFSC2 in Cork or Limerick to spread the load and the wealth. Sadly that’s unlikely, especially with an impotent minority government at the tiller.
I’d love one in Galway, would love to live there.
High density urban housing needs to be prioritised or the urban sprawl will turn into an island-wide conurbation by the time we’re done.
wonder what the story is now with data and data protection…lots of UK crowds will have their stuff on cloudy harddisks over here
Seriously. if the momentum holds, it’ll be for Britain to erect all sorts of barriers and protections for UK trades and goods and movement of labour. That’s not a given, but it is a possibility.
Absurd? The UK is our biggest trading partner ?
It’s not, the US is
Is that a question? Trade with Britain will not be illegal. A deal will be negotiated and we’ll continue to trade with them.
Our top export destination is the US and exports to Germany and Belgium, combined, outstrip exports to the UK by almost $10bn (US source of information with 2014 figures). Most of our imports come from the UK which means it’s just as much in UK business interests as ours to negotiate a trade deal.
http://atlas.media.mit.edu/en/profile/country/irl/
And will most likely continue to be, regardless. And we get the extra banking and financial services.
The IDA should be ringing the heads of all US companies based in the UK to point out that the UK’s trade deals with the EU are up in the air now but Ireland’s are not so come on over.
Unfortunately, our ‘Bertie English’ doesn’t match the near perfect English of the other non-English speaking EU members, who generally also have the ability to speak a couple of other languages.
because no one on the continent speaks English ?
There’s a difference between people speaking English and being an English speaking country. People in Ireland speak Polish. Does that make Ireland a Polish speaking country?
Nope, de people dat speek Polish doesn’t make dis country a Polish speaking country. Dem people dat do business mite want to engage with doze who know three from a tree – they’ll want to know the woods from the trees, like.
Lots and lots of people come to learn English in Ireland because our accent is closer to the dominant American accent used in business.
I think it might be more to do with the fact that Irish English is pronounced closer to how it’s written so it’s easier to understand for those who have learned it from a book, as a second language. We don’t have as much of the more pronounced quirks like the soft R of the English and have a more neutral vowel range compared to the aussies and kiwis.
I’ve been saying thos for years, however, door, horse, bolted.
My whole we do Human
That should calm things down nicely.
Haha , fat chance Martin !
We’re not picking up the SIX BILLON Euro bill to run your little backward provence !
An extra 3000 + a year in tax to fund bigots and racists, no thanks !!
Well now that POWER HAS BEEN RESTORED TO THE PEOPLE in the UK, they can have any referendum about borders they like. We don’t have to recognise the results.
Imagine how great the all-Ireland cockney-accented soccerball team will be!
Two world wars and one world cup. No surrender to the IRA etc, etc.
That’s right, isn’t it?
Good luck with paying for the security and insurance implications from that, easy when you’ve a pool of 60 million people to pay for it.
I think he has a point about this. A United Ireland based on the past is one thing. This is different.
The salve that has kept the island of Ireland relatively peaceful over the last 15-20 years as been ruptured. We all have an imperative to maintain peace. The free movement of people on our island is necessary to peace.
Northern Ireland will join the EU as a singular nation state.
Completely agree. They are a country in their own right. It’s not for us to get involved, undoing the peace and progress of the past 20 years.
“Northern Ireland will join the EU as a singular nation state.”
Doesn’t over 40% of their workforce work for the British state? I’m not sure it’d be sustainable for them to go it alone.
They would not be going at it alone. They would be part of the E.U. Those working for the British state will just transfer to be working for their own state.
I will say this though, The U.K. will probably negotiate with the EU and hold another referendum and never actually leave.
“Those working for the British state will just transfer to be working for their own state”
Really ? How ?
Most of the public sector jobs in the north are bulk processing centres for the civil service in the UK, cant see them still doing that work after they devolve.
Its amazing, all the “revolution starts at closing time” types all seem to forget that, the north (with a brief industrial hiatus) is, was and forever will be an economic black hole.
What do you think Irish civil servants did when Ireland left the UK?
The same thin they always did, sfa, and keep suckling.
On The Buses, I don’t think you understand the point. No country needs 40% of it’s work force working in the public service. The fact that there are so many PS jobs in the North is the UK government trying to improve employment levels. They do not need and cannot afford to pay salaries to 40% of their population if they were an independent country of 1.5 million. You’d have an army of public servants and a negative bank balance so zero actual public services.
I do understand the point. There would have to be changes of course, but the people of the North have spoken in the same way the people of England have. The public sector levels of employment would undoubtedly have to be dealt with. But a lot has to be dealt with due to this referendum, just stating that there is an issue is not enough to render the debate null and void.
Randy and ahjaysis, do you both not have greasy tills to fumble in?
How are they thinking this is a good idea or would ever win? What’s the rationale here?
England will definitely vote for it and will easily override every where else he’s thinking I’d say.
England doesn’t get a vote in it.
Does the Republic get a vote in it?
There are an awful lot of dumb voters south of the border.
Those that don’t pay any material amount of tax wouldn’t have to pay for it.
It’d be for the 1% or 0.1% or Apple or whoever the latest boogie-man is, to pay for it.
And think of the kudos SF would get from scrapping water charges, rates bin charges etc in the North.
Nothing could possibly go wrong……..
There’ll be a lot more Jo Coxes in THAT referendum…
Too soon maybe?
( I won’t lie, I had to suppress a horrified giggle)
I was definitely not trying to be funny!! The complete opposite in fact. I hope it didn’t come across that way!
It may have been how I read it. I love the aul inappropriate joke, and thought it was exactly that. Funny how that happens.
Anyone know how much EU funding Northern Ireland receives each year? …..who is going to plug that gap now?….the DUP should have been more careful about what they wished for…
last thing we need is another 6 counties!
It’s the ultimate day for the UK if they get rid of the EU and dump the financial black hole that NI is…
+ 6,000,000,000
I would like it if the Island was united, but I fear the consequences too much.
So, the FTSE 250 just had its biggest fall in history, the Sterling jumped off a cliff last night, and that idiot was calling – before the northern ireland vote was even officially counted – for them to reunify with the republic, destroying our economy?
When did Sinn Fein take up suicide bomber tactics?
I think SF are suffering from Premature Electulation. ba-dum-tshh
They should sit back and wait for Scotland to do its thing before making a move on this one.
The United Kingdom may be on its last legs but if Martin thinks Unionists are going to be swayed towards a united Ireland by economics or “logic” he is deluded. Scots will probably leave but NI will cling on.
Nigel Dodds talked about British self determination and nationalists in NI favouring staying in the UK for economic reasons during the same interview last night.
As 40 odd % of people are employed by the British state, he has a point.
But, there is no reason why most of that work cannot be outsourced to places like India if the UK does break up.
Sure but the point I was making was how he was disregarding the economic argument in favour of nationalism regarding the EU and then invoking economics regarding the UK.
NornIrn? No thanks.
I could see the republic rejecting a united Ireland in a referendum. Where would that leave Sinn Fein?
@ Eoin
In the driving seat
Yup. Once the economics were explained, I’d imagine a lot of nationalistic fervour would fade.
I wouldn’t vote for it.
Well, maybe I’d take Fermanagh. That’s a lovely county. They could take Cavan.
Yeah, Fermanagh is nice. I’d keep Cavan – lots of lakes.
What about give them Offaly?
Mercanary viewpoints are rather disappointing. This ‘I’m alright Jack’ attutude of the 26 counties has long been hard to fathom and swallow.
The winds of change are blowing…..
now there’s the lad that should be in Foreign Affairs for us
but ye wouldn’t listen
…was it Dan O’Connell coined the maxim…’Englands difficulty is Irelands opportunity’…
A nation once again, a nation once again, and Ireland loooong a province be…a nation once again…
32, my favourite number <3
Niallo, you seem to have alot to say for yourself with regard to the six counties – what your post amounts to is irresponsible, scaremongering propaganda with no factual content. I’m puzzled as to why you would imagine that you have the monopoly on knowing the six counties and nobody else apparently does – even those from there……
Oh to lie at my master’s feet,
I should stand up, but it’s easier sleep,
I’ll do as I’m told and lick his boots,
N’er mind that my own country is in cohoots,
This Stockholm Syndrome, keeps me without own thought,
But sure I am paid for, I am bought,
Oh to lie at my master’s feet,
Taking it up the tail-pipe for the oppresor,
Ain’t life sweet.
* oppressor
Can i just point something out.
Have any of you been to the north ? And i dont mean victoria square in belfast or sainsburys in newry, i mean really been to the north…
Like limavady, or antrim, or ballynure, or lurgan ?
Why would you want it ? Place is a kip, the people are by and large employed by the state or on state benefit, then we get on to the general beligerance of the locals that would put IS to shame.
Run ! Run far away from these loopers and their “united ireland” fantasy
Oh, and while we are on the subject, United under whom precisely martin ? “Il presidente adams” ? Feck dat !
+1
I’d far favour a union with Scotland over adopting the North.
+26
…this has a familiar ring…is it a liitle irelander movement forming to leave the EU?
No idea what a little irelander might be, but no, for (insert name of imaginary friend here)’s sake, no, HELLS NO !
Why would we do that ? Why ?
Federation of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
All in the EU.
The Gaelic League.
I’m sure the Manx will be happy to join up too.
excluding Wales sure they have their own Rugby League!
Put the pint down and step slowly away from the diddly i music !
This is not a terrible idea.
BREAKING NEWS……Chris Eubank now to be know as Chris Bank…..
It does bring a whole new meaning to the old phrase often repeated, Brits Out.
Well now they are.
The real horse trading between Britain and Germany only begins now. This referendum is by no means an absolute leave and the British team leading the negations to REMAIN will be changed.
Anyways, I am just a silly old gay Queen so what would I know. It is Dublin Pride tomorrow so Que Sera Sera. Bring your kids to the parade as it may save awkward conversations and or lectures in later life.
(*\0/*)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iFBXjRbVl0