- Position1 of 4›
- Yes, Ireland should be united
- Argument1 of 7›
It would streamline Ireland's economy
Two states existing on a small island like Ireland is wasteful as it leads to duplication of many services. A united Ireland would be the best economic solution.
The argument
Many public services such as post offices, healthcare and national power and communications systems would be far more efficient if they were a single system across the island of Ireland. While Northern Ireland remains in the UK, a single integrated system is not possible. A United Ireland could provide better services to everyone for a lower cost to the taxpayer. Private companies would also be able to benefit from streamlined administration procedures and would ideally pass the savings on to customers.
Context
Currently, the island of Ireland features separate services for North and South, even though this is often extremely wasteful.
Premises
Counter-arguments
Currently, Northern Ireland’s economy relies heavily on the public sector, which employs more than 25% of Irish workers. “Streamlining” public services in the event of a United Ireland would mean laying off a huge amount of these workers, or, at best, forcing them to relocate to Dublin to replace workers who have been laid off there. In addition, the quality of many public services could deteriorate if they are provided on an all-Ireland basis. The police, for example, has been a difficult topic in Northern Ireland and it took a great deal of work to create a functioning police force with cross-community support in the PSNI. Replacing this with the Gardai would not be an option. Furthermore, the transition process would be extremely expensive and would swallow, and perhaps surpass, any of the savings afforded by more efficient cross-border services. Not only would road signs, legal documents and many other things need to be changed, but police costs could skyrocket due to the heightened potential for violence and increased instability. Many of Northern Ireland’s largest private companies, such as Bombardier, also do most of their business with the UK, meaning that a United Ireland would introduce an unnecessary obstacle rather than streamlining the economy.
Rejecting the premises
[Rejecting P2] The job losses from removing this duplication may make the Northern Irish economy weaker