The Government's position on Irish unity remains unchanged, a Department of Foreign Affairs spokesman said last night after a report in the Belfast News Letter quoted "senior Irish government sources" as stating that they did not see the issue arising for another 20 to 25 years.
The spokesman said that the Government's position had been clearly outlined by the Taoiseach in his Westminster speech last May when he had said that "As an Irish republican, it is my passionate hope that we will see the island of Ireland united in peace."
Mr Ahern added in his speech that "the Good Friday agreement is an unchallengeable consensus on how any future change in the status of Northern Ireland will be effected: only with consent freely given, and with full respect for the rights of all traditions and identities on the island".
The News Letterreport, published last Friday, claimed: "Senior Irish sources said: 'Devolution needs to bed in and then we see what happens from there. There is no appetite or plans in Dublin to get into an Irish unity debate in five years' time or anything like that. The north has come through difficult times and much upheaval and the view in Dublin and London is that it now needs to settle down and develop as a region of these islands. Unionists are secure in knowing that under the Good Friday agreement that is within the United Kingdom. While nationalists can feel secure that they have a place in government and the north has stronger ties with the south'."
