Time to debate an Ireland of regions

David Adams has an interesting article in today’s Irish Times calling on nationalism to spell out what it means when it talks about unity. Regular visitors to O’Conall St will know this is something I have written about too.

Acknowledging Mark Durkan’s call to debate at 21st century vision for unity, Davy argues;

The Belfast Agreement allows for the possibility of a united Ireland, so it makes perfect sense for responsible nationalism to determine what kind of unitary state it envisages, and, more precisely, to consider how unionists could be accommodated in it. It is one thing to talk in abstract terms of desirability of an all-island state, but another to specify how, or whether, it could actually work. If nationalism is serious about unity, it has a duty to explain to unionists precisely what it has in mind.

Those who believe that, if it comes to it, the six Northern counties could simply be tacked on to the Republic, and unionists would fit neatly in with a 32-county version of how things are in the South at present, are kidding themselves. That would be a recipe for perpetual instability across the island.

It seems hard to escape the inevitable logic that the most successful model for unity will be based on strong regional government remaining in Northern Ireland.

Firstly because this creates something which unionism and nationalism can share a common allegiance to; making it OK for people to feel proudly northern and proudly Irish. But also because if we commit to the North as a region, without prejudice to whether we wish it to become a region in a united Ireland or not, we unlock the opportunity for devolved government. By making the North strong we can create a region which can deepen its cooperation with the rest of this island and change its relationship with the UK.  By keeping it weak, we undermine both.

The one size fits all unitary state is what SF believes in but in truth it is a very outdated, British way of seeing the world. That’s why I believe we should be discussing a model of unity based on strong regions.