I want to see a united Ireland in my lifetime. That is my personal aspiration, and I won't pretend otherwise.
But wanting something is not the same as having a plan to achieve it — and on this question, the plan matters enormously. A rushed or divisive path to unity could set back the cause for a generation and, far more importantly, could fracture the peace that so many people worked so hard to build. I will not support that.
The Belfast Agreement is the foundation. It ended conflict, saved lives, and began the long process of healing deep trauma across communities in the North. It also provides the legitimate pathway to change — including the possibility of a border poll. That process must be respected, not shortcut.
The numbers tell us where we are: two thirds of people in the Republic support unity. In Northern Ireland, that figure is around 30%. A border poll requires majority support in both jurisdictions. That gap is not a reason for despair — it is a reason for patient, generous, and honest work.
Here is what I would do as a TD:
Work to establish a structured, well-resourced Citizens' Assembly type process — North and South — to explore the real questions that unity raises. Not flags and anthems in the abstract, but the practical, human questions: What happens to the NHS and HSE? How do we approach school patronage? What does neutrality mean for a unified state? These are not obstacles to unity — they are the conversations that make unity real and sustainable.
This model has worked in Ireland before, on questions that once seemed impossible. It can work again.
There is no shortcut to Irish unity. But there is a road — and it is built on listening, on generosity, and on every community feeling that their voice and identity have a place in whatever comes next. That is the Ireland worth building toward.