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Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin has said a border poll is not on the agenda for his Government in the next five years.<\/p>\nTaoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin has said a border poll is not on the agenda for his Government in the next five years.<\/p>\n
The Taoiseach was speaking at Dublin Castle at the launch of the Shared Island Initiative, one of his Government\u2019s flagship policies.<\/p>\n
The project has seen \u20ac500 million ringfenced for investment in North-South initiatives over five years.<\/p>\n
But the Taoiseach sought to allay Unionist fears that the unit would serve as a \u201cstalking horse\u201d for a united Ireland.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cThe Government has said that, for the next five years, a border poll is not on our agenda.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve also made it clear that my approach is through consensus and listening and engagement.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnionists, from my experience over the years, get the necessity and importance of engagement North\/South.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no ideological opposition to the idea of working North\/South whilst respecting people\u2019s identity and constitutional perspectives.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to create opportunities through the shared unit where unionism, both civic unionism and political unionism, can input, in terms of various fora that might be created or through political dialogue itself.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Taoiseach said scoping would take place on the viability of high-speed cross-border rail links.<\/p>\n
He said progress is overdue on a number of other North-South initiatives, including the A5 transport corridor, the Ulster Canal and the Narrow Water Bridge.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cThrough the Shared Island Fund, the Government is ready to meet our commitments to these projects.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will be working closely with the Executive to seek to move ahead with full delivery, without undue delay.\u201d<\/p>\n
He insisted that the development of the Shared Island Unit would not affect anyone\u2019s identity.<\/p>\n
He said the \u201clogic of a small Ireland sharing its resources are obvious\u201d, and did not need to raise constitutional questions.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs Taoiseach, I respect and I affirm everyone\u2019s right on the island to make the case for the constitutional future they wish to see for Northern Ireland, whether they are nationalist, unionist or neither,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe genius of the Agreement is that we do not need to be defined or dominated by constitutional questions, as we were in the past.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can all work together for a shared future without in any way relinquishing our equally legitimate ambitions and beliefs \u2013 nationalist, unionist or neither.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Taoiseach pointed to the 1.3 million people who have been born on the island of Ireland since the Good Friday Agreement was signed, and urged them to contribute to the dialogue.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir views and actions are fundamental to our shared future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Martin noted that his understanding of Northern Ireland has evolved over time.<\/p>\n
He said he had grown up with a very \u201cnegative attitude of Britain\u2019s role in Northern Ireland, like many others in my generation, and many of the prejudices that came with that\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need to stand back from prejudices and back from the rhetoric and simplistic narratives and move beyond all of that and get down to pragmatic engagement.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added that he is \u201cwedded\u201d to the core of the Good Friday Agreement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s about unifying hearts and minds. It\u2019s about developing a sense of community in people. It\u2019s not territorial to me. It never was.\u201d<\/p>\n