{"id":395143,"date":"2026-04-12T19:12:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-12T19:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/395143\/"},"modified":"2026-04-12T19:12:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T19:12:09","slug":"taoiseach-responds-to-irish-unity-motion-passed-by-waterford-councillors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/395143\/","title":{"rendered":"Taoiseach responds to Irish unity motion passed by Waterford councillors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin has responded to a motion on Irish unity passed by Waterford City and County Council<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The motion, which was passed at the council\u2019s December plenary meeting, called for the establishment of an all-island citizens\u2019 assembly.<\/p>\n

It also pressed the Government to publish a clear plan towards Irish unity and establish a Joint Oireachtas Committee to discuss the matter.<\/p>\n

In a written response to the motion, the Taoiseach said that the Government has no plans to establish a citizens\u2019 assembly.<\/p>\n

Deputy Martin wrote: \u201cThe Government respects and affirms everyone\u2019s right on this island to make the case for the constitutional future for Northern Ireland they wish to see \u2013 whether they are nationalist, unionist or do not identify with either tradition.<\/p>\n

READ NEXT:\u00a0\u2018Serious concerns\u2019 for elderly in Waterford over reduction in hospital bus services<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cA citizens\u2019 assembly on the Good Friday Agreement constitutional provisions is not planned.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the event of a future referendum within the consent provisions of the Good Friday Agreement, the Government would make all necessary preparations in accordance with the terms of the Constitution and the procedures of the agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, he went on to highlight how the Programme for Government aims to progress Irish unity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Programme for Government affirms the Government\u2019s commitment to the unity of the Irish people, and to a sustained focus on and investment in reconciliation, developing the three sets of relationships recognised in the Good Friday Agreement to unlock the full potential of our island.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough programmes such as the Shared Island Initiative, the Government is moving forward with the vital task of building a lasting reconciliation between all communities on this island.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is backed by the Government\u2019s Shared Island Fund, now a \u20ac2 billion commitment out to 2035, through which the largest ever programme of all-island investment across all sectors is being taken forward, to build a more connected island, in terms of infrastructure, services, our economy and crucially between people.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Taoiseach also outlined a number of initiatives that look to promote development on both sides of the border.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn 18 November, as part of the National Development Plan Review, I published the Government\u2019s Shared Island investment priorities across virtually all sectors out to 2035.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith over \u20ac600 million now allocated from the Shared Island Fund to more than 35 projects and programmes, the Government is taking sustained, strategic action and investment to improve people\u2019s lives and strengthen connections across the island of Ireland for our shared future.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast April, I also announced a new dimension to the Initiative – the \u2018Shared Home Place\u2019 programme – to commence this year and be open to people from every corner of the island to build new connections through our place-based heritage.\u201d<\/p>\n

He concluded by saying that these programmes look to embrace all traditions across the island of Ireland.<\/p>\n

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ADVERTISEMENT – CONTINUE READING BELOW<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin has responded to a motion on Irish unity passed by Waterford City and County Council.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":395144,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,1843,43,6513,41846],"class_list":{"0":"post-395143","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ireland","8":"tag-ie","9":"tag-ireland","10":"tag-micheal-martin","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-waterford","13":"tag-waterford-city-and-county-council"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=395143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/395143\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/395144"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=395143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=395143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=395143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}