A Sinn Féin Councillor has called on the UK government to “pave the way” for conditions surrounding a future border poll – with a motion demanding clarity on the issue being passed at a Fermanagh and Omagh District Council committee meeting on Wednesday.
Sinn Féin Councillor Dermot Browne said the British government should set out the circumstances under which a referendum on Irish unity would be called.
He described recent comments by Prime Minister Andy Burnham that a border poll was “off the table” as “ill-informed and divisive”.
Councillor Browne said the conversation around Irish unity was growing and that preparations should be made to ensure any constitutional change was “planned, orderly and inclusive”.
“The right to a referendum on Irish Unity is a key part of the Good Friday Agreement and is enshrined in international law and it is not within the gift of Andy Burnham, or any other British politician, to take it ‘off the table’.”
“The conversation around Irish unity is growing and cannot be ignored. That conversation is taking place in people's homes, in their workplaces, in community spaces and online.”
“It's clear that the direction of travel is towards a border poll and the responsible thing to do now is to prepare for that eventuality so that, when change comes, it is planned, orderly and inclusive.”
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