Brexit, demographic change and political turmoil in Northern Ireland have left many wondering if reunification could come sooner than expected.
In their conclusions, the authors recommend Northern Ireland – which remains relatively poor and heavily reliant on public sector spending and employment – embark on major reforms to improve its residents' standard of living.
"Even though Ireland has a much higher national income, funding the needs of the people of Northern Ireland in a united Ireland would put huge financial pressure on the people of Ireland, resulting in an immediate major reduction in their living standards," the report says.
You know, any time I hear an argument like this as a reason against making corporations pay their fair share, my response is always, "So what? Fuck em."
Like...let them go. Something else will take their place. Regardless, you're getting nothing out of them in the way of a responsible presence in the economic community, so even if they just leave and that's it, it's one less evening leech taking advantage of the situation.
There aren't that many jobs attached to those headquarters, they're mostly there on paper. It's mostly about the taxes, which, although comparatively low, amount to a lot of revenue for the State.
Very good article, thank you for sharing. Surprisingly thorough for being so short. I'd recommend others read it. The title alone does not give it justice.
Agreed. This is the first article I've encountered that explained the economics of possible reunification. Who knew that Northern Ireland receives so much financial support from the UK?
Who knew that Northern Ireland receives so much financial support from the UK?
This is a weird way to phrase this seeing as NI is very much part of the UK, and that anyone with even the most cursory understanding of the UK economy knows that London and South East of England is where most economic activity is concentrated and so most other areas are "subsidised" by them.
The whole article(and/or the study) does not mention the cost of the current split(border,trade barriers-especially after Brexit, etc.) and how that affects both Irelands daily.
And it neither talks about the EU funding Ireland would get for dealing with Northern Ireland - which would be substantial.
Based on pre Brexit spending it would be around 5 billion per year, probably more.
And it's very likely that Ireland would be able to leverage a "development program" for additional subsidies from the EU after unification.
The UK is basically alone now-Ireland wouldn't be alone with a reunification.
Brexit, demographic change and political turmoil in Northern Ireland have left many wondering if reunification could come sooner than expected.
Findings from the Dublin-based Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) take into account the current level of funding Northern Ireland receives from the UK government.
Northern Ireland's public services currently rely heavily on a "subvention" of some €11 billion from the UK, which in the event of unification would need to be replaced by funding from Dublin.
According to the IIEA, the resulting spend would be equivalent to 10% of Ireland's Gross National Income, 40% of which is currently spent on public services.
"To deal with the resulting deficit, which under the most favourable circumstances would persist for many years after unification, there would have to be a dramatic increase in taxation and/or a major reduction in expenditure."
In their conclusions, the authors recommend Northern Ireland – which remains relatively poor and heavily reliant on public sector spending and employment – embark on major reforms to improve its residents' standard of living.
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