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A poll on a united Ireland will only take place when the time is right and sectarian tensions ease, the leader of Fianna F\u00e1il has said.<\/p>\nA poll on a united Ireland will only take place when the time is right and sectarian tensions ease, the leader of Fianna F\u00e1il has said.<\/p>\n
There have been increased calls for a poll on Irish unity, with Sinn F\u00e9in stating preparations must begin and that the poll should be held within the next five years.<\/p>\n
Miche\u00e1l Martin used his address at the European Institute on Thursday to play down calls for such a poll in the next few years.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen 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 F\u00e1il.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Martin also criticized Sinn F\u00e9in 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Sinn F\u00e9in party has been loudly demanding that it must be allowed into government no matter who leads the government,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn top of Sinn F\u00e9in\u2019s destructive agenda and policy of always putting its own interests ahead of the public interest, there is the fact that it is Ireland\u2019s most consistent and obsessively anti-EU party.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt campaigned against us joining the European Union and it has opposed every development of the Union.<\/p>\n
\u201cA hundred times out of 100 it attacks the EU when the opportunity arises and it is allied with hardline anti-EU parties.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt never has anything good to say about the EU, and its Euroscepticism is hardwired into the party.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis can go to ridiculous lengths, such as its spokespeople standing up in the D\u00e1il and blaming the EU for Russia\u2019s decision to invade and partition Ukraine.<\/p>\n
\u201cSinn F\u00e9in in government would mark a decisive move away from a constructive, active and effective policy of being positive to the EU.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis would do enormous damage and undermine one of the basic foundations for Ireland\u2019s economy.\u201d<\/p>\n