Unionists rubbish border poll calls - with Allister wondering why NI would want to join a country 'which cannot defend itself'
Unionists have dismissed renewed demands for vote on Irish unification, with Jim Allister saying a report about Ireland’s inability to defend itself has undermined nationalists’ arguments further.
They were speaking yesterday after Sinn Fein and the SDLP hit back at the prime minister for saying that a border poll is “off the table”.
Andy Burnham explicitly rejected the idea of a referendum during his first trip to Northern Ireland as UK leader on Thursday, and UUP leader Jon Burrows has since said that the prime minister’s outright dismissal serves as “a hard reality check for Sinn Fein”.
The Good Friday Agreement obliges the government to call a referendum if it appears likely that the Irish unity side may win.
Mr Allister, TUV leader and MP for North Antrim, told the News Letter: “There clearly is no basis to call a poll on breaking up the United Kingdom.
“There is no polling or other evidence to suggest that republicans are anywhere close to obtaining the votes necessary to deliver that.
“The revelations today about the Irish Republic’s reliance on the Royal Navy to defend itself is yet further evidence that Dublin cannot even perform one of the most basic tasks of a sovereign state – that of defending its territory and citizens.”
Mr Allister was referring to a report in the Irish Times about the Dublin government having requested Royal Navy assistance in defending its territory.
The article, by reporter Conor Gallagher, says it is based on information from three military/government sources.
It stated that “assistance of the French and British navies was formally requested by Ireland” to cover the period while Ireland is holding the EU presidency, from July to December.
Holding the presidency means it is Ireland’s responsibility to host high-level EU meetings, such as one involving European defence ministers in Co Wicklow next week.
To protect the delegates at that meeting, “a Royal Navy air defence frigate will be deployed in the Irish Sea”, the paper has reported.
However, to satisfy the requirements of Ireland’s constitution, these ships must remain at least 14 miles off the coast at all times.
This, Mr Allister said, “exposes the folly” of a united Ireland.
“The Irish Republic has had to go cap in hand to the UK and France to provide missile cover during its EU presidency because it does not possess the necessary capability to adequately defend its own airspace...
“For decades the Dublin establishment has wrapped itself in the language of military neutrality.
“The reality is that when serious military protection is required, Dublin has to look to other countries – including the United Kingdom – to provide it.
“So while we hear nationalism in Northern Ireland demand a border poll to break up the UK, they want us to join a country which is dependent on the UK when it comes to one of the most basic responsibilities of any sovereign state, defending its territory and its people.
“Those who spend so much time telling unionists that our future lies in an all-Ireland arrangement have to explain why when Dublin needs serious military protection the answer is a Royal Navy warship.”
In interviews during his visit to Belfast, Mr Burnham was asked whether he would be the prime minister who “pressed the button on a border poll”.
His response was that the issue is “off the table”.
“We’ve lived through a decade where there’s been a referendum on Brexit, we had Scottish independence just before it,” he said.
“What we find is the rifts that come from those situations take a long time to heal and it sets you right back, and you can’t focus on what’s right in front of us” (principally the rising cost of living).
Mr Burrows, MLA for North Antrim, said: “On the constitutional question, despite Sinn Fein's false promises and vocal protestations, a border poll is no closer today than when the Good Friday Agreement was signed.
“Yesterday was a hard reality check for Sinn Fein.
“Our party secured the Union and we will keep working to strengthen it. They want better governance, and they would far rather see energy put into delivery than into permanent agitation.”
The Republic of Ireland’s Department of Defence told the News Letter: “For operational and security reasons, we will not be commenting.”