Sir, – While Dr Edgar Morgenroth (Opinion, 15th March) highlighted many potential economic costs to Irish unification, neither he nor the oft-cited Modelling Irish Unification, published in 2016 by KLC Consulting, appear to consider potentially the largest cost; that of a return to violence.
It would be naive to assume that unification would be entirely peaceful and negligent in the extreme to engage in unification without vastly increased security and policing budgets.
Given our reliance on both FDI and foreign visitors, the potential return to violence could have a devastating effect on trade, tourism, exports, employment and Irish society itself.
While we cannot allow ourselves to be held hostage by the threat of violence, the economic costs must be presented openly to facilitate an informed debate on both the positive and negative social, political and societal impact of unification. – Yours, etc,
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BARRY FLANAGAN,
Ballsbridge,
Dublin 4.
Sir, – Colm Tóibín (Opinion, March 15th) makes an interesting proposal for an independent Northern Ireland with full membership of the European Union and the status of a commonwealth realm with Queen Elizabeth as head of state.
While this proposal might seem attractive to some unionists as a long-term alternative to Irish unity, it seems to me that Tóibín misreads Ulster unionists and their attachment to the United Kingdom. This is not just about the ability of unionists to maintain their “British identity, their flag, their drums, their right to a British passport”, but about a sense of belonging to the United Kingdom where their future is bound up with the success of the nation as a whole.
This was illustrated during the EU referendum campaign when many unionists supported Brexit on much the same terms as their compatriots in England, because of their attachment to British sovereignty or their conception of Britain’s place in the world.
Other unionists rejected Brexit because they feared that it might give rise to fresh demands for Scottish independence or Irish unity, or because they were concerned that Northern Ireland would be cut off in some way from the rest of the UK (border checks at Stranraer rather than Strabane).
The survival of Ulster unionism depends on the success of Brexit and the survival of the union with Scotland, so it is unlikely that there is much appetite to consider alternative constitutional arrangements for Northern Ireland at the present moment. – Yours, etc,
DAVID SHIELS (Dr),
Cambridge,
UK.