A recent estimate suggests that unifying Ireland could cost the Republic up to €20 billion annually. This has sparked a debate about the economic and financial implications of a united Ireland.
Careful analysis of the costs and potential pay-offs is now required. Otherwise all we have is fuzzy ideas and slogans'When it comes to unifying Ireland , a detailed cost assessment needs to be part of the package put to voters.' Photograph: iStockhas kicked off, after rumbling under the academic surface now for a few years. An estimate this week of a cost to the Republic’s exchequer of up to €20 billion annually put it on the front pages and on the radio chat shows.
The IIEA paper reckons that this could cost the Irish exchequer some €10 billion a year. On different assumptions, other economists and politicians have speculated on a likely cost of €3 billion to €6 billion. There is no “right” answer. It just comes down to a view of how negotiations would play out.
What kind of transition period would be involved after a vote and how would Northern Ireland’s exchequer be financed during this and in the longer term? So the question is what terms this happens on and, crucially, what kind of transition period would be involved after a vote and how would Northern Ireland’s exchequer be financed during this and in the longer term? Pretending that the unification vote could happen on a Friday and Ireland could be reunited the following Monday if the vote passes is not realistic.
The debate from here has to be based not on fuzzy ideas of some sudden dynamic jump from unification but on how the North’s economy could be upgraded to take advantage of new opportunities
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