Ireland to Set Up New Body to Systematically Study Possible Unification with Northern Ireland
Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin told The Irish Times on October 30 that the Irish government will establish a new body to systematically study, for the first time, the possibility and the models of a unification of Ireland and Northern Ireland, Reuters reported the same day.
The government plans to bring initial proposals on the body to cabinet before the end of this year. Meanwhile Fine Gael, the junior partner in the governing coalition, is to publish its own unification blueprint at the party's conference next week.
The question of Irish unification is governed by the framework of the 1998 Belfast Agreement, also known as the Good Friday Agreement: when it appears likely that a majority would vote for a united Ireland, referendums are to be held in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Setting up a dedicated research body means Dublin is beginning preparatory work on the concrete models, institutional arrangements and economic impact of unification. The unity question has long been one of the central issues in politics on both sides of the border, and no timetable for any referendum has been set.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于都柏林的爱尔兰议会所在地伦斯特宫（Leinster House）。摄影 Chris Rycroft，CC BY，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: Leinster House in Dublin, seat of the Irish parliament. Photo by Chris Rycroft, CC BY, via Wikimedia Commons.
