Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkar says violence from loyalist terror gangs ‘would not arise' in united Ireland
Leo Varadkar drew a comparison to partition in 1921 which happened without a single vote being cast as he warned unity should not be an 'annexation of six more counties' but a new state 'that can be better for all of us'.
Speaking at St Mary's College in Belfast on Friday, the ex-premier called on the current Irish government to establish a forum to lead discussions on the issue as he appeared to downplay concerns of potential loyalist violence in reaction to any constitutional change.
'I know there are people south of the border who, when I talk to them about reunification, express to me concerns that there might be a very small minority within unionism who may turn to violence,' Mr Varadkar said.
'I don't think we should dismiss that as a possibility. I don't think it will happen, to be honest.
'In two referendums, both north and south, people would be very clearly giving their preference as to what should happen, it would be quite a different situation to when partition happened 100 years ago and it wasn't voted for.
'I don't think that would arise but I think it's a reasonable question.'
The 'In Conversation' event — hosted by Feile an Phobail and Ireland's Future — was chaired by Reverend Karen Sethuraman and attended by former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams.
Mr Varadkar, who is a vocal campaigner for unity discussed the conceivability of unity as he outlined how he believes it can be achieved insisting there must be a bill of rights, guarantees of civil protections and liberties.
'Just saying it as an aspiration isn't enough anymore, it should be an objective and an objective is something you act on,' he said.
'One of the ideas that I would put forward, which could help to move on this discussion, is the establishment of some sort of forum.'
The former Fine Gael leader, who stepped down last April, said he believes unity will happen in his lifetime but conceded 'I don't think it's inevitable'.
The staunch advocate for a border poll cautioned against thinking 'it'll just happen by osmosis' or by 'saying nothing'.
'I don't share that view,' Mr Varadkar said.
'There's nothing inevitable in politics or life.'
Mr Varadkar outlined his own concept of how unification may be achieved.
'An idea that I had was that you could put a preliminary question in principle,' he suggested.
''Do you want here to be a united Ireland' and then the next stage is constitutional convention. Perhaps one made up of the Assembly and Dail combined.
'Or perhaps one that's elected strictly for this purpose to draw up a constitution and a bill of rights for a united Ireland. And then people have a second vote, confirmatory vote, when they know all the details as to what it means and can go decide whether they want to go ahead or not.
'I think that maximises the chances of a positive vote in the first round and it also maximizes the chances of a greater participation.'
But Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly suggested Mr Varadkar was 'wrong in terms of the trajectory' towards a united Ireland, insisting the number of people voting for nationalist parties, around 40%, 'hasn't moved since 1998'.
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