Future polls to have “no impact” on Good Friday Agreement

Posted By: August 09, 2018

Allison Morris. Irish News. Thursday, August 9. 2018

A senior Judge has said that the principles of the Good Friday Agreement would remain in place regardless of how the people of Ireland vote in any future border poll.

Senior Counsel Richard Humphreys, pictured, was elevated to the High Court of Ireland in 2015.

In his latest book, Beyond the Border: The Good Friday Agreement and Irish Unity after Brexit, he says “raising the threshold for unity, for example to a

supermajority is ruled out” as part of the agreement.

“The test for unity is 50 percent plus one of those present.”

Adding; “There is no end-date for the Good Friday Agreement. That means that the Stormont institutions are not transitional but are permanent features of the constitutional landscape. They would remain in place even in the event of a united Ireland.”

“Thus the agreement promotes an inclusive version of Irish unity. Very little would change on the ground if a majority for unity emerged. MPs would go to Dublin as TDs rather than Westminster, but beyond that, the day-to-day governance of Northern Ireland would continue to be at local level”, Mr. Humprey’s said.