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Kristina Hixson

Mr. Phillips

AP Language and Composition

14 December 2018

Why Reuniting Ireland is the Best Option for Northern Ireland

In 2016, the United Kingdom (UK) voted on whether or not to leave the European Union

(EU). The world was shocked when Scotland and Northern Ireland (NI) voted to remain part of

the EU while England and Wales voted to withdraw. This decision, now known as Brexit, has

many different possible outcomes, all of which will have different effects for the UK, but will

especially impact NI because of its special soft border with Ireland. Serina Sandhu, an executive

news reporter for I News, describes the three main possible outcomes of Brexit as a soft Brexit, a

hard Brexit, and a no deal Brexit. A soft Brexit means the UK would still intimately affiliate with

the EU. A hard Brexit would remove the UK from all Brexit agreements. Lastly, a no-deal Brexit

means that the UK and EU would not be able to come to a deal and therefore no transition period

would take place. The best solution for Northern Ireland’s economy is a soft Brexit because it

would allow NI and Ireland to keep the soft border, and it allows the possibility of a reunited

Ireland.

The border between Ireland and NI has been a soft border for about the past twenty years.

This means that the border has been virtually free of border control, trade regulations, or taxes on

exports and imports. According to Sam McBride, a political editor for The News Letter in

Belfast, there are many benefits for the citizens near the border that come from having a soft

border between the nations. Some of these benefits include having a job in Ireland while owning

inexpensive housing in NI, living in Ireland but holding an address in NI to receive NI

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healthcare, and most importantly, giving free access for people to transport goods across the

border. The only problems with the current soft border are minor nuisances involving different

currencies in the countries and complicated mobile phone network contracts for people who

spend their time in two different countries (McBride).

If the final arrangement reached between the UK and EU involved a hard border between

NI and Ireland, the currently relaxed relationship between NI and Ireland would become

burdened with new border regulations creating a much more obvious separation between the

nations. Compared to the rest of the UK, Northern Ireland relies the most heavily on agriculture.

If a no-deal Brexit takes place and the border between NI and Ireland becomes hard, severe taxes

from the World Trade Organization would make animal and food transport across the border

much more difficult and expensive (McBride). People living in Ireland and NI now are used to a

very relaxed border, so drastically changing rules surrounding the border would not only hurt NI

and Ireland’s economies, it could also cause an increase in crime. These crimes would involve

illegally trading and selling products in order to avoid the challenges and expenses of dealing

with a hard border. “The fear in Dublin is that our border towns would become a backdoor into

the UK,” says Phil Hogan, the European Commissioner for Agriculture. “In that instance what

sort of fortress would the Northern Ireland border have to become to close that backdoor?” (qtd.

in McKinney) Luckily, both the EU and UK government have expressed support to keep a soft

border. Recently, Theresa May addressed what she and the EU want for the border, saying “We

both agree that the Withdrawal Agreement needs to include a backstop to ensure that if there’s a

delay in implementing our new relationship, there still won’t be a hard border between NI and

Ireland.” (qtd. in Laud)

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The UK is lawfully required to call a referendum on Irish unity if polls display

encouragement for it under the Good Friday agreement. Because more people have shown

support for a united Ireland in recent years, there is a high likelihood that a referendum, would

unite Ireland (“Will Ireland unite after Brexit?”). This support comes from not only the

friendliness between the nations, but also the positive prospects that could come from uniting.

According to a report conducted by KLC Consultants, a Canadian firm of an Irish-American

organization called KRB Inc., NI’s gross domestic product (GDP) would fall anywhere between

3.8 and 10.1 billion euros from 2021 to 2025 if a hard Brexit or no deal Brexit takes place. But,

the report also discovered that NI’s GDP would rise if they joined in a united Ireland, making

uniting the most economically sensible decision (“United Ireland ‘only winning…’”). Backing

for a vote on Irish unity to take place has been frequently asserted by the political party Sinn Fein

as Brexit discussions continue (“Will Ireland unite after Brexit?”).

While the nationalist party Sinn Fein is most against a hard border between Ireland and

NI, unionist parties such as the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) are more opposed to leaving

the UK. The leader of the DUP, Arlene Foster, has claimed that if NI leaves the United

Kingdom, the new border would hinder Ireland’s ability to trade with the UK and cause long-

lasting problems (“Foster: Border in Irish Sea…”). Theresa May agrees, stating, “Just as it would

be unacceptable to go back to a hard border between NI and Ireland, it would also be

unacceptable to break up the United Kingdom’s own common market by creating a customs and

regulatory border down the Irish Sea (qtd. in McKinney).” Although Irish nationalists oppose to

remaining in the UK, Stephen Gamble, a News Letter Belfast journalist reports Sinn Fein

president Mary McDonald agrees that before Britain has fully exited the EU, the UK government

should work to ensure that there are no obstacles for trade between them and NI.
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Despite being a respected political party in NI, the DUP has been misrepresenting the

majority of NI’s views and is not acting in favor of the country. The DUP’s rejection of the

possibility of a backstop - an insurance policy in the case of a no deal Brexit that would keep NI

in the EU-has exhausted industrial and trade networks that do not want to suffer from any Brexit

decisions according to The Guardian columnist Dawn Foster. “Against its better interests, the

DUP has embraced those who view Northern Ireland as a disposable appendage, if not a liability,

to England’s future prosperity,” says Edward Burke, the director for Centre for Conflict,

Security, and Terrorism at the University of Nottingham The DUP is pushing for these major

decisions when they do not even represent a majority of NI. The DUP was the only major

Northern Ireland political party that supported Brexit in the 2016 referendum, as reported by the

Irish correspondent for The Guardian, Rory Carroll, and their continued stubbornness since then

could ultimately contribute to a no-deal Brexit. “Their current stance is taking us over the cliff to

a no-deal Brexit,” says Stephen Farry, an Alliance Party member of legislative assembly (qtd. In

“Unionists not representing majority…”). As discussed earlier, a no-deal Brexit would be bad for

NI and the whole UK. The lasting consequences would tarnish the name of the DUP and all of

NI in the eyes of the UK for the foreseeable future because of the numerous negative effects they

would have for nearly everyone involved (Burke).

Although a no-deal Brexit would be the worst case scenario for everyone involved, NI is

likely to suffer from hardships no matter how Brexit turns out. Several solutions that would keep

NI a part of the UK have been suggested, including the Max-fac plan and the Canada-style

agreement. The Max-fac plan would avoid the need for border control between NI and Ireland by

using computers to digitally follow cargo that passes across the countries’ boundaries. The

Canada-style agreement would discard most regulations from the EU, but would not completely
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remove the need for a hard border (Sandhu). While both of these plans could have some positive

outcomes, the best solution for NI would be a reunification with Ireland. This provides the most

secure possibilities of keeping a friendly relationship between all of the countries involved while

also providing the best economic future.

Works Cited

Burke, Edward. "Whatever the Brexit outcome, it will be bad news for the DUP." The Guardian,

5 Oct. 2018, www.theguardian.com.

Carroll, Rory. "Brexit's 'doom loop': the 'blood red lines' that drive May's DUP allies"." The

Guardian, 18 Oct. 2018, www.theguardian.com.

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"Foster: Border in Irish Sea will impede NI's access to trade deals." The News Letter [Belfast], 10

Oct. 2018. Global Issues In Context, go.galegroup.com.

Foster, Dawn. "The DUP’s overreaching on Brexit could lead to a united Ireland." The

Guardian, 13 Nov. 2018, www.theguardian.com.

Gamble, Stephen. "There can be no trade border in Irish Sea: SF." The News Letter [Belfast], 7

Mar. 2018. Global Issues In Context, go.galegroup.com.

McBride, Sam. "What a no-deal Brexit would mean for Northern Ireland." The News Letter

[Belfast], 6 Aug. 2018. Global Issues In Context, go.galegroup.com.

Laud, Georgina. "Brexit: Did Northern Ireland vote for Brexit? Does Northern Ireland want to

STAY in the EU?" Express, 21 Sept. 2018, www.express.co.uk

McKinney, Conor James. "The Irish border and Brexit." Full Fact, 12 Apr. 2018, fullfact.org.

Sandhu, Serina. "What's a 'no deal Brexit? The consequences of the UK leaving the EU without

agreement." I News, 1 Dec. 2018, www.inews.co.uk

"Unionists not representing majority view on Brexit, Sinn Fein claims." Belfast Telegraph, 9

Oct. 2018, www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk

"United Ireland 'only winning scenario' after Brexit-report." The News Letter [Belfast], 7 Nov.

2018. Global Issues In Context, go.galegroup.com.

"Will Ireland unite after Brexit?" The Week, 17 Sept. 2018, www.theweek.co.uk