Sinn Féin TD Rose Conway-Walsh has welcomed the findings of an Irish Times/ARINS poll, which shows that support for Irish unity has grown significantly in the past three years. Teachta Conway-Walsh said, “I really welcome these findings which confirm that support for unity is growing, particularly in the north. This ongoing research on constitutional change is very important and should ramp up government action to do the work to prepare for a referendum on Irish Unity including the holding of citizens assemblies.
“It complements the work of civic groups like Ireland’s Future, the work that is being undertaken by the Oireachtas Good Friday Agreement (GFA) Committee as well as the action research work being done through universities here and internationally.
“This GFA Committee has examined the economic opportunities of reunification and the opportunities for women in the constitutional discussion.
“In the upcoming Dáil term it will build on that work by focusing on All-island healthcare, environment and natural resources, human rights and education/skills. Important documents have been published and I look forward to more evidence gathering and publications.
“In terms of the polling, the most important point to note is that attitudes are changing, particularly in the north. What is clear is that more people now support unity than did 3 years ago when the survey began.
“I urge the Irish government to move from a position of discussion to a position of pro-active planning for the unity referendums as provided for in the Good Friday Agreement. The Programme for Government states that they “remain steadfast in implementing the Good Friday Agreement in full. This must include the unity referendum.”
Rose Conway-Walsh also welcomed the findings of the recent survey carried out by the Irish Times and the ARINS Project (Analysing and Researching Ireland North and South), which reveals that most people both North and South would want to maintain the east-west link post reunification.
