Michelle O'Neil has said she thinks we'll have a reunification referendum in the next 10 years.

[TooBigForMyBoots]

Is that enough time for Britain to right itself and become sufficiently functional for NI to vote Remain?

Or in an historical twist--the island of GB joins NI and has a referendum to become part of Ireland in an attempt to stop the downward spiral...

That would definitely get a 26 county no vote.

Though it would be quite interesting to see how GB would cope with representative democracy.

I live in NI from a protestant background but consider myself to be neutral. I send my children to integrated schools and believe integration is key to the future of NI.

People I speak to from all backgrounds are not really concerned about flags or colours but things like health care and benefits. Not many would be happy paying £40 to see a GP or to pay to have our bins collected.

If a united Ireland were to happen there would have to be major fundamental changes on every side. The republic is very Dublin centric. NI's closest neighbour Donegal has been left way behind the rest of ROI - would this be NIs fate?

I am not opposed to unification but think it is just a romantic notion at the moment. Noone is talking practicalities. There would be a hell of a lot of work to take place and things agreed before a ballot can even be dreamed about.

"If a united Ireland were to happen there would have to be major fundamental changes on every side. The republic is very Dublin centric. NI's closest neighbour Donegal has been left way behind the rest of ROI - would this be NIs fate?"

That crossed my mind too. Dublin takes centre stage in the ROI (something people in rural areas often complain about). How would we accommodate Belfast? Rotating government? Six months in Dublin and six months in Belfast? Or compromise on the centre of Ireland? Google tells me the geographical centre of Ireland is near Castletown Geoghegan in Westmeath. Would do wonders for the local economy there. But locals mightn't be too happy about the rise in house prices.

Not forgetting Cork's claim as the real capital .

Same here, and I also don't want t to have to deal with DUP and the likes. We're just about breaking free from the yoke of the Catholic Church, don't need this extremely conservative clique trying to hinder that.

People say 'oh they'll be in a minority, what could they possibly do?' but I just don't think they will contribute to positive discourse.

I live in England and if I want green waste collected, I pay £58 for the service.

Irish law is closer to English/Welsh law. Scottish law is different.

Donegal is quite a conservative county. Voted no in the abortion referendum.

I think announcing the potential for a referendum is the correct thing to do. Now the planning and fleshing out the practical sides of what it would look like can occur. Michelle is signalling the start of that work, I presume.
People can vote on real options then, rather than vague theoreticals.

Ready and waiting for the united island of Ireland. The annexation of another country has been allowed to continue for far too long.

I know Sinn Féin called for a Citizens’ Assembly on reunification last year or the year before, but I think that while acknowledging they’ve done good work in the recent past and that they might be a good forum for thinking through symbolic stuff like flags, anthems etc, I don’t think it’s in any way a reasonable expectation to expect one to be able to accommodate the sheer amount of practical considerations, let alone how to accommodate unionists in a united Ireland.

What? What about the people in the Republic who do want to keep the orange faction on the national flag? Seeing as it's our national flag and all? It'd never work, what about the national anthem?

It's ironic that the Tory party and Brexit have done more for the cause of a United Ireland than 30 years of the Troubles ever did.

That said I would say 10 years is the earliest but definitely by 20 years. Most voters aren't really interested in political ideals they just want economic prosperity and stability so the only thing that would turn voters away from unification is if the Republic's economy or EU took a turn for the worse politically or economically.

That also raises the question of whether the Republic gets a say in this or not.

@Mittens, I think the sheer comedy value of Orangemen demanding not to be represented would be worth the change. After all the green flag has a longer claim - there'd be no crown on the harp this time round.

Admittedly, the green is already a compromise colour - originally Ireland's colour was Jacobite blue, and they mixed with with orange to get green in order to be what we'd now call inclusive. Then put orange into the tricolour for double orange representation. But no, massive sulkers gonna massive sulk.

Here's to the spirit of 1798.

That also raises the question of whether the Republic gets a say in this or not.

We do, that's written into the Belfast Agreement.

The Tories have frequently worked hard towards Irish unity.

I reckon Margaret Thatcher was a closet republican. She did more for IRA recruitment than any one else ever did.

John Major was not exactly enthusiastic about any agreements or talks.

Tories were in power when internment was introduced. Tories were behind the widgery whitewash etc.

A few more considerations.

Name of the Country

What do we call the new state? Ireland? United Ireland? Obviously we can't use anything Irish 'cos it will offend the Unionists.

Flags

It's been mentioned already but flags. We all know how contentious they can be.

National Anthem

It would be a big sacrifice but I'd give up the dirge that is Amhrán na bhFiann in the interests of peace and reconciliation. Danny Boy anyone?

Currency

Since the ROI is in the EU, I guess the new state would have to stick with the euro.

Taoiseach

As an Irish word, it wouldn't go down well with the Unionists. Do we replace it with the title Prime Minister?

President

Do we stick with Michael D. Higgins or hold an All-Ireland presidential election to elect a new president for the new state? It would have to be someone with a link to the two states. Dana anyone? Oh wait........

Car registration plates

Do we stick with the ROI reg. plates - year and county? What's the UK system of numbering? Random numbers and letters?

Passports

The citizens of NI would have to surrender their UK passports. I know some citizens already hold ROI passports. In the interests of fairness, do we scrap the ROI passports and issue everyone with new All Ireland passports? How long will this take and will the new passports be ready in time for the summer holidays?

Income Tax

Who currently pays the highest amount of tax? I suspect it's those of us in the ROI. In which case, I vote we go with whichever system deducts the least amount of income tax.

Stamps

We'd need new stamps.

New Bank Holiday

To commemorate this very significant event (the reunification of our two states), I propose that we create a new Bank Holiday. In November. 'Cos we don't have a Bank Holiday in November and it's a cold, dreary month.

Anything else I'm missing?

I'm in the Republic of Ireland, and I would not be voting for this. Apart from the fact that it would cost an absolute fortune, I really don't see what actual tangible benefits this would bring to people in NI or in ROI.
It just sounds like more fuzzy, feel good, pie in the sky nonsense from a politician.

Logistically it's a nightmare, we have different health systems, different legal system, different school system, different currency, etc. etc. How would you join those together in a way that's compatible for everyone? And if you don't, if there is a reciprocal agreement but keep things as they are, as mentioned by a previous poster - then what's the point? What's the point in a load of upheaval to keep things mostly the same...

It just doesn't make a lot of sense in real life day to day terms. Plus it would be a nightmare trying to get both sides to agree.

@Taytocrisps Holy God! You're missing the most important part! And sure aren't you named after them!!!

Dairy Milk. The chocolate bar in the south is definitely 💯 better than the north equivalent.

Tayto Chese & Onion! Southern bag is softer and the crisps far superior.

Would my fellow northerners agree I doubt that very much.

😂😂😂

True, that could be the deal breaker! No one wants their Cheese and Onion in a blue bag 🟨🟨🟨

We could ask Bono to write our new National Anthem. That should unite everyone in opposition to the idea.

It’s up to people who live there

Happy for them to reunite if it’s what they want

In short, no.

If it gets to that stage who gets to vote as I can't see the DUP and other unionists accepting it. It's what they've always dreaded happening.

It could make other things easier here too

😂😂