A poll on a united Ireland will only take place when the time is right and sectarian tensions ease, the leader of Fianna Fáil has said.
There have been increased calls for a poll on Irish unity, with Sinn Féin stating preparations must begin and that the poll should be held within the next five years.
Micheál Martin used his address at the European Institute on Thursday to play down calls for such a poll in the next few years.
“In relation to the issue of unity, the very last people who should be listened to are those who use it as an issue for party politics and ignore the fundamental challenge of building a unity between communities,” he said.
“When the point is reached that we can have a referendum in a constructive and respectful atmosphere, with all issues about what might happen dealt with openly and conclusively, then no party will be more energetic in campaigning for it than Fianna Fáil.
“But that point will only be pushed off further into the future if we continue seeing the essentially sectarian and partisan approach to this issue promoted by one party.
“We have lost a lot of time in recent years, time which should have been spent on building bridges was thrown away on senseless inter-party disputes, and this has delayed the process of deeper understanding without which nothing positive can be achieved.”
Mr Martin also criticized Sinn Féin as being an anti-European party and said they would not be suitable to be in Government as Ireland got ready to partake in the next round of Brexit negotiations.
“The Sinn Féin party has been loudly demanding that it must be allowed into government no matter who leads the government,” he said.
“I’ve discussed at length the many reasons why that party is not acceptable to us, and it is a basic tenet of democracy that each party has a right to determine how it uses its own mandate.
“On top of Sinn Féin’s destructive agenda and policy of always putting its own interests ahead of the public interest, there is the fact that it is Ireland’s most consistent and obsessively anti-EU party.
“It campaigned against us joining the European Union and it has opposed every development of the Union.
“A hundred times out of 100 it attacks the EU when the opportunity arises and it is allied with hardline anti-EU parties.
“It never has anything good to say about the EU, and its Euroscepticism is hardwired into the party.
“This can go to ridiculous lengths, such as its spokespeople standing up in the Dáil and blaming the EU for Russia’s decision to invade and partition Ukraine.
“Sinn Féin in government would mark a decisive move away from a constructive, active and effective policy of being positive to the EU.
“This would do enormous damage and undermine one of the basic foundations for Ireland’s economy.”