Member's statement: Irish Unity
Member's statement by Mr Cathal Boylan on .
- MLA
- Mr Cathal Boylan
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 9 September 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Irish Unity
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5085716
Read the official Assembly record
Text
The appetite and desire for change has grown across this island among people from various backgrounds and walks of life. We have seen directly, through our party's commission on the future of Ireland, the positive vision that people have for Ireland. Whether you are in Keady or Kildare, Armagh or Athlone, Tyrone or Tipperary, many of the issues facing our communities are the same. Duplication of public services on an island of this size is, in many instances, inefficient and therefore ineffective in delivering for the people whom we represent. We have seen in recent years the growth in cross-border trade, together with greater collaboration in infrastructure development and health service provision. However, those are only glimpses of what is possible in the event of Irish unity. Consolidating infrastructure development across the island would lead to more coordinated planning and greater connectivity, boosting trade for businesses. During recess, on a visit to Leinster House, I took the opportunity to engage with our TDs and Senators about the challenges we face and the opportunities that exist to overcome them. It is no secret to anyone in the House that we in Sinn Féin believe that the interests of people on this island would be best served in a new Ireland, and it is our desire to achieve that goal through referenda, as set out in the Good Friday Agreement. We need to be ambitious and look towards the future to invest in infrastructure, and this vision is not coming from the British Government. We need to do things differently, and Irish unity will allow for that. Projects such as the A5 and the all-Ireland rail review will enable us to spread wealth and jobs and benefit the economy as a whole. It is time to plan, discuss and prepare for change. It is time for the Government in Dublin to establish a citizens' assembly or assemblies on Irish unity to prepare for our future. This is a decade of opportunity, and we must seize it.
334 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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