United Ireland claims ‘complete nonsense’

Steve Aiken dismissed the prediction by Fianna Fail Senator Mark Daly as “ridiculous”.

The South Antrim MLA accused Mr Daly of “searching for relevance” after losing his position as his party’s deputy leader and spokesperson for foreign affairs in the Seanad (Irish Senate).

Senator Daly lost his position after he was involved in a debacle in October surrounding the announcement of a Fianna Fail candidate to contest council elections on this side of the Irish border — an announcement that was officially denied by the party.

In an interview with the Irish Independent newspaper at the weekend, Senator Daly claimed many unionists were open to the possibility of a united Ireland because of Brexit.

“Some are saying that maybe a united Ireland would be better than a Brexit Britain,” he said.

But Steve Aiken dismissed those comments as “complete nonsense”.

The UUP MLA added: “It is ridiculous. I know Senator Daly quite well. Mark is trying to regain some sort of position within Fianna Fail having been stood down from his position as spokesperson for Brexit in the senate. He is searching for relevance.

“There is no evidence for this at all — and Mark knows that.”