Self-determination for the people of Northern Ireland must be respected- Aiken

·         Oireachtas report is disingenuous

·         Principle of consent must be respected

·         Pro-Union majority should not be disenfranchised

Ulster Unionist Finance spokesperson Steve Aiken has said the self-determination of the people of Northern Ireland must be respected.

Steve Aiken was commenting after the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement published a report outlining plans for a United Ireland.

Dr Steve Aiken OBE MLA said:

“This is a United Ireland wish list dressed up as a Brexit report. Instead of poorly researched and highly biased ‘evidence’ gathering, politicians in the Republic would be better served looking after their own domestic affairs and dealing with their own considerable European challenges, rather than seeking to undermine the constitutional position of Northern Ireland.

“At a time when all parties should be working constructively together to overcome the challenges and maximise the opportunities of Brexit, this report offers little and in fact is disingenuous by not respecting the wishes of the people of Northern Ireland – you would nearly think that the Republic’s election campaign has already begun.

“The Belfast Agreement is clear, Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom until its people say otherwise. The self-determination of Northern Ireland must be respected. All available data suggests that the majority of people in Northern Ireland are content remaining within the United Kingdom and Brexit does not change that reality.

“Indeed this report, by recommending that Northern Ireland remains a part of the EU, undermines the Belfast Agreement and the principle of consent which underpins it. Any attempt to create a border up the middle of the Irish Sea is totally unacceptable, unwanted and unworkable.”

ENDS

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