So, briefly, Newton Emerson gives us confirmation of what you probably already knew from listening to Gerry Adams talking to Tara Mills in last week’s big interview on Sinn Fein’s #BorderPoll. That is that the party’s figures simply do not add up.
In yesterday’s Irish News he noted:
It is true that DFP’s last report showed revenue rising to 12.7bn but the same report showed public spending rising to £23.2bn, so the £10bn gap remains. Mr Adams tried to muddy this by referring to our share of UK defence and debt but he forgot that our UK defence contribution is only £1.1bn, our share o the Irish Defence Forces budget would be £300m and our debt would go with us into a united Ireland.
He goes on to note that that the total amount of corporation tax generated in Northern Ireland is £775m, so that if there is a downward swing in the real figure it is likely that ‘the real funding gap for Irish unity may be closer to £8bn than £10, but it is nowhere near £5bn, let alone “significantly less”.
Mick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty