Allister: Unionists must not fall for Dublin’s new sugar-coated 32-county republic

TUV MLA Jim Allister has urged unionists to have nothing to do with taoiseach Micheal Martin’s Shared Island Unit – a body which the newly-installed Irish leader set up within his own department.
By Adam Kula
Published 22nd Oct 2020, 20:49 BST
July 31, 2020: Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill and First Minister Arlene Foster with taoiseach Micheál Martin at a press conference after the meeting of the North South Ministerial Council at Dublin CastleJuly 31, 2020: Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill and First Minister Arlene Foster with taoiseach Micheál Martin at a press conference after the meeting of the North South Ministerial Council at Dublin Castle
July 31, 2020: Deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill and First Minister Arlene Foster with taoiseach Micheál Martin at a press conference after the meeting of the North South Ministerial Council at Dublin Castle

Mr Allister was speaking after a major speech from Mr Martin, in which he spoke of the advantages of cross-border co-operation (although he did not explicitly talk about political re-unification of the island).

READ DETAILS AT THIS LINK: DUP MP warns against Dublin ‘interference’ as taoiseach talks up his Shared Island UnitThe new unit has been hailed by the SDLP, while SF used the occasion of Mr Martin’s speech to call for preparations for the removal of the border.

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FULL DETAILS HERE: Unionists must join in with preparations for Irish unity ‘as equals’: McDonaldMr Allister said of the Shared Island Unit: “I think it’s a new tack by Dublin to try and sugar-coat the same old agenda – the absorption of NI out of the UK into a 32-country republic.

“It’s not something [that would] entice anyone who believes in the Union.”

He said Mr Martin might have “a little more subtlety” than his predecessor Leo Varadkar – who continually irked unionists by straying into territory which they regarded as outside his jurisdiction (such as around the Province’s post-Brexit future).

He added: “But I think it’s the same endgame they’re all playing towards – the absorption of Northern Ireland.”

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He said it is “self-defeating” for any unionist to involve themselves with Mr Martin’s unit.

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Related topics:Micheal MartinJim AllisterUnionists