Northern Ireland

Border poll is ‘good idea’ but would be defeated held now, Taoiseach says

Leo Varadkar says a defeat now would take reunification off the agenda for years

  • June 19, 2023
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar: “I think the difficulty with the border poll is it would certainly be divisive in Northern Ireland, but it would also probably be defeated in Northern Ireland”

A border poll would probably be defeated if held now, Leo Varadkar has said.

The Taoiseach said that if it was held and lost, it would leave a wake of division in Northern Ireland and calls for reunification would likely fall off the agenda for years, citing examples in republican Australia and Quebec in Canada.

“I don’t think it’d be a good idea, certainly not at this point in time,” he said, despite stating that ...