Irish Unity
Aontú will strive for the unity of the Irish people and the development of a strong All-Ireland economy
Self-determination
Aontú seeks the independence of the Irish people north and south, east and west. We believe in self-determination; that decisions made as close to the people that they affect are better decisions. Irish people can influence those decisions and they can hold the decision makers to account. When decisions are made solely in London, Brussels and Berlin they are not made in Ireland’s interest.
London treats the northern economy like an economic backwater. At partition, over 80% of Ireland’s industrial output came from three counties around Belfast. Belfast was the largest city in Ireland and the north was by far the richest part of Ireland. The north of Ireland has been impoverished by London’s lack of interest in the 20th Century in the same manner the south of Ireland was in the 19th Century.
Irish Unity is an opportunity to improve the lives of the people of Ireland
Unity is the key to unlocking Ireland’s potential. Economies of scale, efficiencies of delivery, increased market size, larger EU representation are all obvious outputs. There is also the question of justice.
Given that the opinions of Irish people north and south are changing significantly in support of Irish unity and given the demographic change, it is foolish and irresponsible for the governments in Dublin and London not to start to plan for the unity of the Irish people.
Practical Preparation are Necessary now
Not preparing for unity now is a serious mistake. The solution for a hard border is no border. The practical steps that need to be taken to ensure that the latter is achieved in a peaceful and harmonious fashion, must now be taken.
The All Ireland Economy was promised under the Good Friday Agreement but it has received precious little attention from the establishment. It would provide the best way to ameliorate against the worst excesses of Brexit. It must be developed now.
This means planning together, funding together and delivering services together on an All-Ireland basis. We need to be practical in the development of convergence across the Ireland in terms of taxes, enterprise, health care and supports. Better, more effective and more efficient infrastructure and services are a threat to no one.
The Next Steps
The Good Friday Agreement was a wonderful achievement. It created a peace that many thought wasn’t possible. However it was created in a different time, when there was a Unionist majority and before the impact of Brexit.
Who can honestly claim that the institutions under the Good Friday Agreement are working? They are broken and will remain so. When operating, Stormont is at best a carve-up between the two largest parties and at worst an exercise in parties blocking each other.
It is blatantly clear that we now need to move beyond the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement. A referendum on Irish reunification is now the only reasonable next step and is necessary to allow the north to move forward economically and socially. Aontú will support calls for this referendum and will actively campaign for a Yes to Unity vote. Joint authority is at best a temporary measure for the short term to allow practical decisions to lift people out of poverty and facilitate enterprise.
Departments north and south need to start really working together in partnership ahead of unification in order to rebuild the fabric of the country as an all island organism, this will allow a smoother transition. The breadth and depth of the North/South Ministerial Council must be logically improved. We need to see the ongoing, planned and increasing devolution of far more powers from London to Ireland, to allow a managed transition to unification. The North/South Inter-Parliamentary Association must be developed to provide deeper and more regular parliamentary support to the work of the North/South Ministerial Council.
