The DUP has hit out at calls for preparation to be made for a border poll after the results of the 2021 census showed Catholics now outnumber Protestants in Northern Ireland.

Whilst pro-united Ireland parties have hailed the news as a major milestone, unionists have questioned the extent to which religious persuasion will translate into political preferences.

And Cambridge academic Dr Graham Gudgin last night told the News Letter that “the figures tell us little about support for Irish unity” – something which has tended to hover between about 30% and less than half of that, according to regular polling done by the Province’s universities.

In addition to the figures on religion, census results are also in for national identity, and for passport ownership.

placeholder image — A laptop displays the religion section of the NI Census 2021 figures which have been published

In the case of national identity, British remains by far the most popular choice – although the proportion of people saying they are Irish has gained a lot of ground since the 2011 census.

Meanwhile, when it comes to the kind of passports people hold – something which serves as a tangible indication of nationhood – UK passport owners far exceed Irish passport owners.

DUP MLA Phillip Brett castigated Sinn Fein for its calls for preparations to be made for a unity referendum, and said “to draw political conclusions based on the number of Protestants and Catholics is simplistic”.