United Ireland cannot be just an ‘aspiration’, Leo Varadkar says

Varadkar told the event on Thursday that he believed Brexit and the possibility of being able to re-join the European Union had caused some people to support Irish unification that would maybe not have before.

However, he said a border poll being called at this stage would potentially be high-risk.

Varadkar said research indicates support in the south is large but shallow and that support in Northern Ireland is not assured, even among people from a nationalist background.

For Irish unification to be a success, he said, there was a need to make sure that people of a British identity are wanted and feel wanted.

He believed the Irish government should not seek to simply “accommodate” them in a new Ireland, but should seek to build a common new home for everyone who calls the island home.

Colum Eastwood thanked the young people who attended from four schools in the north west for their thoughts and ideas.

Mr Eastwood said that he wanted to build a case for a new Ireland with a reconciled people.

During a press conference after the event, Leo Varadkar said he understood why unionists may not even want to enter the Irish unity conversation.

He said he would not want to be part of a conversation around the Republic of Ireland becoming part of the United Kingdom.