Peadar Tóibín: Ireland must not be collateral damage in the Tory government’s pursuit of a hard Brexit

The most surprising thing is that people are surprised.

Ireland must not be collateral damage in the Tory government’s pursuit of a hard Brexit.

It’s clear that as long as the Tories have a say in what happens in Ireland we are exposed and our national interest is threatened. I am calling on an Taoiseach Micheál Martin to shake off his reluctance to even contemplate an open and honest debate on Irish unity.

The decisions on Ireland’s future should be in the hands of the Irish people — and out of the hands of Boris Johnson.

Five years on, and Ireland is continuing to be damaged by Britain’s Brexit shambles.

The people of the North are shackled to the misfortunes of the Tory government by virtue of nigh on a hundred years of partition.

The self determination of the people of the North has been binned over and over again by the Tories.

If the British people were given the chance to determine their status in Europe, surely the Irish people should be given the chance to vote on whether to have full self-determination.

The hard border of Brexit is yet another devastating consequence of partition.

In so long as partition remains and the well-being of the Irish people is not wholly determined by the decisions of the Irish people, Britain’s will dictate elements of our safety and well-being.

History has shown them to be poor in this regard, to say the very least. It is long past the time for Ireland to be entirely independent of Britain.

Peadar Tóibín, Aontú leader and Meath West TD

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