Enda Kenny says that Brexit could lead to a united Ireland

Posted By: November 26, 2016

Alan Loughnane. Joe.ie . Thursday, November 24, 2016

He made the comments at a fundraiser…

Britain’s impending exit from the European Union has raised a lot of questions about how Ireland’s relationship with the UK is going to change, specifically in terms of trade, travel and the border between the north and south of the country.

The return of a hard border between north and south is not wanted by any of the parties involved, but there’s talk that the UK may want to shift its frontline border into Ireland to ensure no hard border is necessary.

The move would mean an introduction of British immigration controls at Irish ports and airports to prevent illegal travel to the UK from Ireland post-Brexit.

However, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said that Brexit could result in an “uncomplicated route” to a united Ireland at a Fine Gael fundraising event according to The Irish Times.

Kenny raised the issue at a fundraiser for Dublin TD Noel Rock, where he said that Northern Ireland should not have to wait 20 years to re-enter the EU (which is the probable length it will take to rejoin should they leave along with Britain).

However, a spokesperson for Kenny said that he was not advocating a united Ireland but rather pointing out the logic of the situation, and that the processes of the Good Friday Agreement still apply.

This is not the first time that Enda Kenny has touted the possibility of a united Ireland having previously mentioned it as a possibility in September.

“The possibility of unity by consent must be maintained as a valid democratic option into the future,” he told the annual meeting of the British-Irish Association in Oxford. “That means that, if there were democratic consent to Irish unity at some time in the future, there must be a mechanism to ensure that democratic decision can be implemented within the European Union, as was the case in Germany.”