“To ignore the process of change that is gathering pace across Ireland is not simply to stick your head in the sand, it is a dereliction of duty for any sovereign government.”
- Conor Murphy
Sinn Féin Seanad leader, Senator Conor Murphy, has said that the Irish government now needs to take a lead on preparing for Irish unity following universal support across the Houses of the Oireachtas for a Sinn Féin unity motion.
Seanadóir Murphy said, “The Sinn Féin Irish unity motion was discussed in the Dáil chamber in October and in the Seanad last evening. I am delighted that both houses supported the motion and that the position of the Houses of the Oireachtas is now that the government must establish an all-island representative Citizens’ Assembly or Assemblies and a Joint Oireachtas Committee on Irish Unity.
“Furthermore the motion commits the government to produce and publish a plan towards Irish unity in conjunction with civic society and key stakeholders, and to engage with northern protestant and unionist opinions about the future of Ireland as Sinn Féin has done, publicly and privately, for many years.
“We want to be free to govern ourselves and determine our own destiny. That is what uniting Ireland is about. That is what self-determination is about. Without the right to self-determination for the people of the north all other rights are illusory.
“The unity campaign can be a great unifier among both the parties and the people who support reunification. There is a major role to be played by civic and community groups who will be central to winning the referendums, our global diaspora must be included as well.
“People from the protestant tradition are a vital and integral part of our new shared future. There cannot be a new Ireland that does not celebrate and include those from this tradition. They will be every bit as valid Irish citizens as anyone who sits in the Dáil and Seanad Chambers.
“We have an opportunity to forge a new relationship with Britain. It will always be our nearest neighbour, and the ties of family and friends mean that there will always be a close affinity with that country.
“Going forward it will be a partnership of equals, that is one of the lessons of the Brexit experience, significant change must be planned for and managed by governments.
“The Good Friday Agreement clearly identified where such responsibility lies. To ignore the process of change that is gathering pace across Ireland is not simply to stick your head in the sand, it is a dereliction of duty for any sovereign government.”
