Everyone should have the right to voice different perspectives on Northern Ireland’s constitutional position, Ireland’s deputy premier has said.
Micheal Martin was reacting to comments from Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris on Monday when he branded remarks on Irish unity by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar as “unhelpful”.
Mr Varadkar had expressed his belief that he would see unification within his lifetime.
Mr Heaton-Harris said Mr Varadkar raising the potential for a “plan B” if devolved government in Northern Ireland is not restored by the autumn was also “unhelpful”.
Asked about the UK Government minister’s remarks, Mr Martin said: “I was surprised at those comments.
“I think everybody is entitled to have their perspectives on the future constitutional position of Northern Ireland.
“Since the New Ireland Forum, we in the Republic have always articulated our aspiration to a united Ireland.
“I believe in the unity of the Irish people in the Wolfe Tone tradition. My party is founded on the principles of Wolfe Tone of uniting Protestant, Catholic and dissenter and we have new people now in addition to that residing in Northern Ireland.”
There was evidence of tension in the relationship between Mr Heaton-Harris and Mr Varadkar as both politicians attended a peace funding announcement in Belfast on Monday.
The powersharing institutions at Stormont have been collapsed for more than a year as a consequence of a DUP blockade. The party is seeking further assurances from the UK Government about post-Brexit political and trading arrangements following the signing of the Windsor Framework.
The framework, negotiated by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak earlier this year and approved by Parliament, proposes reduced checks on goods travelling directly to Northern Ireland from Great Britain, to reduce trade barriers within the UK.
The Northern Ireland Secretary said he will not abandon efforts to bring back the executive, but said it is impossible to put a timeframe on when the devolved assembly would return.
Mr Varadkar said the stalemate cannot be allowed to continue forever, and added that “alternative arrangements” may need to be considered if the DUP does not agree to end its boycott.
Last week, Mr Varadkar said he believed he would see a united Ireland in his lifetime, and has previously discussed the potential for a “plan B” if devolved government in Northern Ireland is not restored by the autumn.
Mr Heaton-Harris said work to get Stormont running again is his priority.
“The Taoiseach’s got a lot of domestic politics on his plate, but occasionally unhelpful comments down in Dublin do resonate up here amongst the unionist community, and I need the clearest picture possible to get the executive up and running,” he said on Monday.
“I think devolution can be restored and, to be frank, I don’t think it would be a plan B because, whatever was happening, we’d be constantly trying to make sure that the executive got back up and running.
“So it would be an evolution of process rather than an alternative to try and get the executive. But both those two things can run together.”
Mr Varadkar said he had discussed with Mr Heaton-Harris the “lack of progress” being made in restoring the Assembly.
“I think if it is advancing at all (efforts to bring Stormont back), it’s advancing at a snail’s pace, and I know from talking to all five main parties here that confidence is starting to wane about whether it is going to be possible to get the assembly and the executive up and running,” he said.
“I am worried about that, I am certainly not giving up on it.
“But there does come a point at which the stalemate can’t go on forever.”
Speaking on Tuesday, Mr Martin said the priority is to get the Stormont executive up and running.
Asked to outline what Mr Varadkar meant by alternative arrangements for Northern Ireland if the devolution impasse continues, he told RTE Radio One: “In respect of the Good Friday Agreement, obviously we’re very concerned at the fact that because strand one (devolved institutions) isn’t working, because the executive and the assembly are not up and running, strand two (north-south political bodies) has been affected.
“So, the north-south dimension has been undermined, is in limbo in respect of its operations and so on. And that’s not satisfactory from the Irish Government’s perspective, because the Irish Government, along with the British Government, have an overall obligation under the Good Friday Agreement to protect the entirety of the agreement.
“And so we have a legitimate concern about the continued collapse of the executive and the assembly. I believe that there is an opportunity to restore the executive and the assembly.”
He said any alternative arrangements would be within the context of the existing UK/Irish political body – the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference.
“We have to look at how do we protect the remainder of the agreement, there are three strands to the agreement and three sets of relationships. And we have a legitimate concern.”
