It is a disservice to moderate unionists to imply that backing NI protocol is akin to support for united Ireland

The editorial of March 18 (‘Unionist concerns are discarded by President Biden’s administration, which is adopting a partisan approach’, see link below) depicts Irish America’s support for the Northern Ireland Protocol as being a nationalist driven position.

Northern Ireland’s two nationalist political parties and the Irish government certainly support the protocol.

Importantly however, it is also supported by two of Northern Ireland’s centre-ground parties, the Alliance Party and the Green Party.

Together these two parties account for upwards of 17% of the electorate (as per the 2019 Westminster and European elections) and their respective voter bases necessarily include some of a unionist persuasion.

The suggestion that supporting the protocol is akin to supporting a united Ireland does a disservice to those centre-ground unionists (admittedly a minority of unionists) who emphatically do not harbour nationalist ambitions, but rather wish to get on with the business of implementing an agreement which is currently the only available means of stabilising the (economic and political) situation in Northern Ireland.

The achievement of stability may well do much more to safeguard Northern Ireland’s constitutional position than the instability which comes with trying to unpick an internationally agreed agreement.

Mary C. Murphy, University College Cork

• Editorial: Unionist concerns are discarded by President Biden’s administration

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