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?

Absolutely. We share the same island but our institutions are so different. I can't see many people giving up things that work for some idealised Ireland.

When I was younger I just assumed we were all Irish regardless of whether you were in the north (as I am) or the south, but I've since realised we are a different Irish to the southerners. The southerners have the full blooded, stereotypical Irish identity ("top of the mornin"), whereas we in the north are a hybrid of Ireland/UK.

I was in London last week for the first time and it was just a bigger (much much bigger) version of Belfast. Same currency, road signs, same institutions (NHS) etc. By comparison, whenever I've crossed into the south of Ireland it felt much different.

I remember watching a TV debate on RTE where Martin McGuinness was told by a female audience member in the south to "go back to your country" when he was running for Irish president, and I felt insulted (as he clearly did) by this...with him responding along the lines of.."Derry is just as Irish as Dublin or Cork". But, although she was brutal in her delivery, she had a point. It isn't the same.

I do pay a ridiculous £1.45 for my weekly 8 square bar of golden crisp.

Reread that and blush. People from Ireland have a ‘full-blooded stereotypical Irish identity’ (“top of the mornin’)? You also seem to be equating currency and road-signage, not to mention stage-Irish stereotypes, with some form of national identity. London is absolutely nothing like Belfast.

Actually this thread is depressing, but illuminating in flushing out deep-seated ignorance.

I don't know anyone who gets misty eyed about the subject here in Munster. The North rarely comes up and ppl are very pragmatic.

Our health service would have to be completely free of course to expect a majority vote for reunification. The benefits are actually better in the Republic otherwise though. I'm an oap and have free travel nationwide for example. My pension is more generous than the UK pays too.

In any event there's going to be some Devo Max option no doubt. Nobody misty eyed on either side of this question. Look at Ian Paisley with his Irish passport. How he must laugh at the silly British mugs ....

I studied, worked, married and bought a house in Galway. Lived there for 8 years. Yes there's some discrimination against people from Northern Ireland but in the main it's a lovely Country.

Belfast is nothing like London - lived there for 10 years. Yes I did live in Kilburn for a while 😊

To add I can transfer my pension over to the Irish government and live there if I so choose to. My brother in Northern Ireland is considering it.

I'm from Belfast and have lived in Ireland and Londin. All three are totally different. As for top of the morning to you, I never heard it once the whole time I lived down south.🙄

What on earth is a “full-blooded stereotypical Irish identity” I have never heard a person Top of the morning to you in the republic? I mean I would totally agree that people in Northern Ireland have their own unique identity.

When I lived in London nobody once said ' Cor blimey strike a light guvnor , you're a toff and no mistake '. It was a crushing disappointment.

"Top of the mornin" was merely a stereotypical way of referring to the common view of Irish people (who are southerners)...you don't ever hear our northern version of Irish in the media.

Over a century of being divided has created two separate cultures. Rory McIlroy touched on the hybrid identity we have in the north.

There's no chance of giving up what we have in the north for the south. The UK economy gets bashed on here, but the south? Its banjaxed.

Back to the original point, a NI that works means any chance of change (ie. unification with the south) is a pipedream by those who still harbour it.

NHS is 'free', which most people mean: free at the point of delivery, but in lots of studies the quality of health care is poor and compared to the Irish healthcare system (and many others) means you're more likely to die or become disabled at a younger age in the NHS.

Good points mud but nonetheless I think Salaah is right : not many people will vote to pay to see a GP. I personally only had to pay once in the last 26 years and Sick , Unemployed and elderly ppl generally don't pay. But....that's a hard sell. You need a simple message.

It's quite possible that the GFA can go on working for decades. Especially if the Brits get their act together ie join the Single Market. After all the dysfunctional One Party state lasted for 50 years before Ted Heath brought in direct rule.

I’m Irish, but lived in England for much of my adult life until 2019. I’ve had far, far better healthcare in Ireland, even during Covid, and was able to have an ongoing gynaecological issue that had wrecked my quality of life for years (the NHS had been unable to help) sorted with three minor day surgeries and good care.

And also, bluntly, paying for a GP visit but being able to see a doctor within a day or two at most, at a time I can make, and having more attentive care, and from one doctor, has been a far better experience than my last GP service in England where your options were an appointment that was usually a fortnight or more away, or showing up before 8 am to a surgery in a neighbouring village and queueing on the road till it opened at 8.30, after which you might still be waiting 2 hours, longer if you needed to see a specific doctor.

The NHS was desperately overstretched and not fit for purpose.

You can earn quite a bit now and get free GP visits. Your expenses like rent/mortgage, childcare, travel to work etc are taken into account too, I know a couple on just over 100k who just got a gp visit card because of their expenses.

I think the costs of paying for healthcare in Ireland are somewhat over exaggerated and public health care is definitely improving. A while back I had to wait 6 months for an mri but lately dh got one within a week(both free). I'm seeing a cardiologist quite regularly at the moment which is free although I have to travel to NI for treatment at a private hospital there because of the wait lists here. I also see a rheumatologist here and get free physio and joint injections. We do pay €80 every single month though for medications because dh is on a really expensive medication for life but on the bright side it would be a lot more than €80 if it wasn't capped.

I agree - the reality is the system here is pretty good (certainly not perfect), you don't pay for children under 7 years, if you are on a low income, are retired, long term unemployed, or have a chronic health condition etc. so there are lots of people who qualify for medical cards or gp cards and therefore don't pay.

Also, if you do pay, you generally get an same day appointment and if you are a prsi employee you can claim tax back on your medical expenses. And hospital admissions are free.

However the headline that people see is that we pay €50 to see the doctor in ROI, and for those who have never paid that's very unpalatable. Getting people to pay for a service they always had 'free' at point of use if not a vote winner.

Exactly @Farmageddon . I did wonder about taking out private health insurance but my social welfare officer advised against it. 'You won't be left by the side of the road ' were her exact words.
They just need to keep American companies out of the system and make everything free at the point of service. Or else shut up about having the world's 2nd highest GDP. Or whatever it is. And build some bloody social housing.

I didn't mind having to pay for healthcare. At least I could get some. Now I get through to my GP on the 47th attempt only to find there are no appointments left.🙄

Are low earners exempt from paying for healthcare in ROI?

This, ladies and gentlemen is why there may be a united Ireland in our lifetime.

The UK didn't get, as you put it so eloquently @IvorTheEngineDriver, "lumbered with NI".

The UK could have removed themselves, lock stock and barrel from the island of Ireland and then NONE of the troubles or anything else would have happened. The UK (for that read Westminster or even in some situations just England) wanted to own all of the island of Ireland.

It's amazing how, when the British colonised countries, they left a holy mess in their wake - see The Troubles in NI, and India/Pakistan and that has worked out well hasn't it!

I was never staunchly nationalist, Republican or any flavour in between. I was very much a live and let live person.

However, as I get older, I can see why the Easter Rising happened, why the Troubles happened and I find it interesting that there was more progress made with Westminster when there was a Labour government in charge than for the decades of Conservative "leadership" there has been since the late 1970's.

I immediately signed up for VHI when I studied, lived and worked in Galway. Also joined a union, which helped as well. The premiums were based on my salary.

I had to pay, 10 punt to see my doctor then, 80s, but it was worth it.

An overview.

https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/health/health-system/private-health-insurance/

heard an interesting conversation on the radio that more and more people identify as not Irish or British but Northern Irish. I am from there but been in England for 35 years. I would say it’s true for my siblings and children who live there.
if we have an Irish passport it’s more about Brexit than needing to identify as Irish
I think the power sharing now makes a referendum less likely.
Michelle O Neill would not be forgiven if she allowed pursuit of that to override governing - the SNP are failing because of that. And the stakes are higher -Unionists would not tolerate it and I would see civil unrest following easily - I often think it doesn’t take long to scratch the surface and many of the old tensions are still there
I think if SF assume
leadership of the South they are
already making promises they can’t keep to younger people and pursing a referendum when they have been voted in to sort out housing would be political suicide
The work of uniting health/education
etc Would be enormous and NI would become a lot more expensive if British money is withdrawn
basically in practice there is no border - people travel freely, can avail themselves
of Irish citizenship and there are some cross border health and other systems
I also thought MoN speech on Saturday was great and wonder if she said ‘8 years’ to actually kick the can as far down the road as she can

Nobody has to pay for all healthcare. Some lower income earners, people with certain health conditions and pensioners get free everything. Some people get free GP care. Unless you choose to go privately everything except medication(which is capped at €80 per month per family for everyone), GP visits and a&e charge is free. You can claim some tax back on those charges. Hospital stays are free, consultant visits are free, tests like mris and xrays are free, basically everything done in a hospital except the a&e charge is free. Lots of people here have health insurance and choose to go private but that's a choice.

Dentists aren't free but you get certain things free with PRSI, Im not sure what pensioners/the unemployed get but i think they get certain things free. Same for eye care, PRSI pays for an eye test every 2 years and a free pair of glasses up to certain value. You also get free hearing tests and free hearing aids with PRSI.

One of the problems with reunification, much overlooked, are Saints names, especially in hospital settings. Personally I'm secular and have no time for this.

Post below is from 2017.

https://m.independent.ie/regionals/wexford/news/sign-of-the-times-as-hospital-removes-saints-from-wards/35487597.html

Technically yes, but the income threshold is very low so most people don't qualify, it's a bit higher if you have dependent children etc.

If you don't qualify for a medical card based on your means, you could get a GP visit card (the income limit is higher) which means you don't pay to see a doctor, but have to pay for your medication.

Or you could qualify for a discretionary medical card if you have a condition or have a lot of ongoing medical expenses.

Basically it depends on your situation.