Should there be a united Ireland?

The majority of people in Ireland as a whole support it

Question: Should there be a united Ireland?
Position1 of 4›: Yes, Ireland should be united
Argument‹7 of 7: The majority of people in Ireland as a whole support it

The argument

According to a poll conducted by The Times and UK based company Panelbase following Brexit, 80 percent of Irish citizens are in favor of a united Ireland, 40 percent of whom believe that this reunification will occur within the decade. Those two figures do different work: the first establishes the breadth of support, while the second indicates that a substantial share regard it not as a distant aspiration but as a near-term prospect worth planning around. This energetic support for reunification is correspondingly mirrored in the popularity surge of political parties like Sinn Féin, a party that champions reunification as a central issue. The movement of the other parties is the more telling indicator. Although Sinn Féin has long held Irish reunification as a major aspiration of their party, in an effort to appeal to the masses, major parties like Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have also established their own positions as ultimately wanting to witness the creation of a united Ireland. When rivals converge on a position, it is usually because they have read the same public opinion. Moreover, issues like that of Brexit have only spurred support for reunification, by turning an aspiration into a practical answer to an immediate problem. Specifically, as Northern Ireland wishes to remain in the EU and prevent the development of hard borders between itself and the Republic of Ireland, many have found a solution in reunification. Yet this connection is not unique. Instead, similar conclusions have been made across the United Kingdom, most recently witnessed in Scotland — which suggests the reasoning is a general response to the constitutional situation rather than a peculiarly Irish enthusiasm.

Premises

[P1]Proponents cite a post-Brexit Times/Panelbase poll finding 80% of Irish citizens favor a united Ireland, 40% of them expecting it within a decade, a sentiment mirrored in Sinn Féin's surge and adopted even by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. [P2] Brexit has intensified this support, as Northern Ireland's wish to remain in the EU and avoid a hard border points many toward reunification as the solution. [C] Ireland should be united, because the majority of people across the island support it.

Counter-arguments

Although the Republic of Ireland is believed to vote overwhelmingly in favor of reunification, nationalists are apprehensive regarding the vote of Irish protestants in Northern Ireland— even reporting that this could ultimately lead to the failure of reunification.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P1] The poll cited surveyed the Republic, so it cannot establish support across "Ireland as a whole": the question turns on opinion in Northern Ireland, where surveys have consistently found much lower support, and party positions in the Republic measure aspiration rather than the island-wide majority the title claims. [Rejecting P2] Brexit's effect is also being read one way only, since the arrangements adopted to avoid a hard border reduced the pressure the premise treats as decisive — and under the Good Friday Agreement unification requires concurrent majorities in both jurisdictions, so a majority in one does not carry the conclusion.