When our society discusses Irish unity – as it increasingly does – we need to focus more on the realities of what a united Ireland will be. At present, too much conversation considers the question of identity and too little on how this new country will function, what it will feel like, how it will integrate those who do not want to belong and how we will get there.
This is the purpose of my new book, ‘A New Ireland – A Five Year Review’. The book considers what progress has been made since the second edition of ‘A New Ireland’ and seven years after the first edition. My conclusion is that we are continuing to talk in terms of high level ideas and insufficiently about the practical realities.
That criticism applies equally to unionists and republicans. For unionists, what are they doing to make Stormont work? Clearly, obviously, painfully, Stormont is dysfunctional. Some unionists do not want Stormont to work, while some unionist ministers give the appearance of not trying to make it work. Too often decisions are taken to advantage one tradition over another.
As for republicans and nationalists, what answers are they providing for the transition to unity and what strategies do they have for winning a referendum? We can disagree on the size of the British subvention to Northern Ireland, but we can’t simply wish it away. The size of the subsidy needs to be analysed, with a negotiation strategy for minimising it come a positive referendum vote.
And then we have the future of Stormont itself. I was astonished a couple of years ago to make a presentation to an Oireachtas committee, finding that most senators appeared to believe that our dysfunctional, often sectarian and sometimes absent Stormont should be retained within a federal Ireland. It seems that for some the North should simply be bolted onto the existing Republic, without seriously altering the Southern status quo.
We need to recognise that adding the North to the South creates a new state. This requires a new constitution. And that new constitution requires substantial consultation, and not just about whether the future would involve a unitary or federated state.
Personally, the most convincing argument for Irish unity is the abolition of Stormont. Having worked inside it for two years (as a political advisor) I am convinced that it cannot work in a manner that provides good and effective government. Despite its faults, the South operates more effectively.
A combined new Ireland would potentially provide more effective government, with much greater attention paid to the border areas. An all-island healthcare system should be able to operate at lower cost and with better outcomes for patients. The South’s gradual move towards Sláintecare, closer to the NHS system (which is broken in the North), is a welcome sign of progress.
Similarly, we can seek to integrate other services, learning from best practice in each jurisdiction. While the North’s grammar schools provide mostly excellent outcomes for their pupils, too many of our children who go to non-selective schools are failed by the system. The South has better structures to get the most out of pupils from lower income backgrounds.
There are a range of services and policy interventions that are begging for an all-island approach. These include ecological management (especially in border areas), public and road transport planning and management, skills development and inward investment promotion.
It seems strange that so little detailed discussion has so far taken place about the practical challenges involved in Irish unity. I hope that my new book will do something to promote the conversation and the planning.
• ‘A New Ireland – A Five Year Review’ is published by Colmcille Press. It is launched this Thursday, the 26th June, at 7pm in the Rath Mor Centre in Derry, by Professor John Doyle of Dublin City University.
Paul Gosling is author of ‘A New Ireland’; ‘A New Ireland – A Five Year Review’; editor of ‘Lessons from the Troubles and an Unsettled Peace’; author of ‘The Fall of the Ethical Bank’; and co-author of ‘Abuse of Trust’, the story of a child abuse scandal in Leicestershire.
Discover more from Slugger O'Toole
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
