I welcome this debate on the financial implications of a united Ireland. I acknowledge that the Tánaiste and so many other Members in this House see its merits in the future. I would have hoped that in this House we would at least have moved past the time of framing this without casting a value judgment. Any discussion on the financial implications of a united Ireland today that is based upon credible analysis would show that Irish unity is a clear economic opportunity for the entire island, and one that we should seize with both hands. Today such arguments serve only as a tool tor those who would frustrate efforts to realise what is our national ambition. Far more relevant is the economic underperformance of the North, as outlined by Professor John Doyle. As a person from a Border county, the North should never have been treated any differently from Cork, Kerry or Dublin. Irish unity is an opportunity to move beyond very real consequences that were inflicted upon the North, by a dysfunctional British State, and one that is totally disinterested in the needs of our people. This is an opportunity for the people in their ordinary lives and business, to move beyond artificial divergences, which at different times may have negative impacts on either side of the Border. This is an opportunity to seek not just co-operation, but holistic, integrated planning in terms of healthcare, transport, education, tourism and so much more. It is important that we are having this discussion but that we will have many more discussions that must be had if we want to achieve a united Ireland in a planned and structured way. I recall to all Deputies, these words of Charles Stewart Parnell, spoken 141 years ago, and inscribed on a monument at the top of O’Connell Street, less than 1 mile from here: "No man has a right to fix the boundary of the march of a nation; no man has a right to say to his country, 'Thus far shalt thou go and no further.'" I would invite them, as demand for Irish unity grows, as its moment presents in front of us, to eagerly take a leading part in these conversations, and not to be a source of frustration. At the very least, they should never be contrarian to those sacred words. I will finish today with a reference to the Tánaiste's words about what a united Ireland could create. We in Sinn Féin believe that we need a plan and to benefit from the economic benefits to be had.

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