Fine Gael proposes North-South minister and unity forum

Fine Gael Proposes Junior Minister and Unity Forum in New Blueprint

Fine Gael published a long-awaited blueprint on Irish unity at its ard fheis in Cork on Saturday, proposing the appointment of a junior minister for North-South relations and the establishment of a forum on Irish unity, bbc.co.uk reported. The proposals arrive just days after Taoiseach Micheál Martin outlined a separate initiative on the constitutional future of the island to his Fianna Fáil parliamentary party.

The Fine Gael blueprint sets out four designs for a unified island titled unitary, federal, managed integration, and higher cost. Under the highest-cost scenario, unification could cost up to 25 billion euros in the first year, while a managed integration model presents an annual cost of 3.2 billion euros depending on constitutional choices. The adverse high-cost model also projects a bill of 41.2 billion euros by the 25th year after unity.

Fine Gael Proposes Sovereign Wealth Fund for Unification Costs

The party’s proposals call for creating a dedicated sovereign wealth fund to finance the long-term transition costs of unification. Alongside the fund, Fine Gael advocates for immediate steps to expand North-South co-operation, which could include merging IDA Ireland with Northern Ireland’s foreign direct investment agency.

Plans for government structures involve creating a dedicated unit within the Department of An Taoiseach led by a minister of state for North-South relations, though the report does not guarantee this appointment within the current government’s lifetime. Meanwhile, Fine Gael leader and Tánaiste Simon Harris is scheduled to become taoiseach in November 2027 under the coalition’s rotating agreement with Fianna Fáil, supported by Independent TDs in Dublin.

Party Outlines Independent Consultative Forum Backed by Law

Fine Gael’s blueprint outlines an independent, government-supported, inter-party and consultative forum backed by law to operate for five years with a two-year extension option. The body would possess its own budget and secretariat, led by an independent chair appointed by the Irish government to publish research and policy recommendations.

The party intends to seek meetings with every political party across the island to discuss the recommendations and identify areas for co-operation. In parallel, BBC reported that Taoiseach Micheál Martin’s separate Futures Study Initiative will invite political parties, activist groups, unionists, and loyalists to submit evidence across three core constitutional scenarios without recommending a single outcome.