Comments by "Taint ABird" (@taintabird23) on "Boris Johnson 'will reveal plan' for Brexit and Irish border this week" video.

  1. I'm Irish, and its not about a united Ireland - now is not the time or the circumstance for that - south of the border we want no changes to the status quo. Leaving things as they will put a united Ireland off for another couple of generations, Brexit will bring it subject to the fore much sooner...
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  2.  @tomhulme1176  Nobody in Ireland voted for any changes, so Ireland will not support them.
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  3. They will make the decision, but they will do so having consulted Ireland. They have consulted Ireland at every stage and Ireland has the unflinching support of the Commission and the 26 members states. As it happens, it is a plain as day that the current proposals put forward today are unworkable in a broader EU context. Ireland is sovereign. Being a small country with the ability to stand up to a larger nation which is used to throwing its weight around is what happens when you pool sovereignty with 26 other nations. Its the first time Ireland has been able to do that in 800 years.
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  4. With respect Tom, what is obvious to a Brexit is usually determined by or relative to, the extent of their knowledge. The EU and Ireland are on record as saying that there will be no hard border in Ireland until such time as the UK diverges from EU standards. On 1st November the UK will still need a deal with the EU. The border, money, freedom of movement etc will be all on the agenda in Brussels once again. The realities of Brexit will help focus minds in the UK.
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  5. That's wonderful Tom, but the rest of Europe is happy with the EU. Nobody requires liberation from it. Support for EU membership has hardened across the bloc with anti-EU parties rejecting a national 'exit' in favour of reform of the union. This is entirely down to the farce in your country. Misery loves company, but nobody else will be following the UK out. It is very obvious that Brexit has been embraced with all the fervour of a religious belief by those who adhere to it. You can't actually have a rational discussion about Brexit with a Leaver because reason has nothing to do with it - its all emotional. People don't make good decisions when they are based on emotion. Brexit as an idea is not coherent and ultimately not sustainable. It has exposed the divisions within England and within the broader UK, the democratic deficits you all put up with, its inequalities and diverging identities. Brexit will not solve these issues and is an exercise in displacement - the English are leaving the wrong union. It will be interesting to see how many will continue to support Brexit when the UK leaves and its realities are apparent. It will be interesting to see how the Scottish react, in the knowledge that their aspirations are forever to be over ruled by an English people with different values. What we are witnessing is not the UK becoming 'independent' - we're witnessing the slow break up of the UK.
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  6. Hauliers in NI usually travel to the continent or GB via Dublin because its shorter. When the UK leaves and diverges, NI goods will have to be checked when they cross the border. This is a hard border.
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  7. About 13% of the population of the UK was born outside the country. The figure for Ireland is 17%. Granted, nearly have of these immigrants come from Poland and the UK, but immigrants integrate well here and we have no right-wing anti immigration parties that don't fail to lose their deposit when they run in elections. The concept of multi-layered identity is part of the Irish national identity now. In the Irish constitution, the definition of the Irish nation includes the notion that you can have more than one identity by including people of Irish heritage as part of the Irish nation: you can be Irish and British, Irish and American, Irish and European, Black, Muslim, Jewish and so on. You don't have that type of civic nationalism in England - its an ethnic nationalism. There's no mention anywhere of conscription into an EU Army - except in the UK right-wing media. In any case, Ireland has an exemption from the EU Army in the Lisbon Treaty, which is what the Irish people had included as a protocol in the Treaty and voted for in that second referendum that Nigel Farage believes is an example of the Irish being 'made to vote again'. Ireland voted for its membership of the EEC and later the EU. The Irish people vote on every single treaty change and so we 'own' our membership in a way British people never did. The Irish people never voted to be part of the United Kingdom in 1801. I won't give you a history lesson, but Ireland experienced real oppression under British rule and we know what real oppression looks like. Its the same in Europe: between the ambitions of Hitler, Franco, Mussolini, Salazar and Stalin, Europeans know what real oppression looks like. Our country is still dealing with the consequences London made in the interests of an establishment which spoke a different language, practiced a different religion, culture and customs than the natives. English oppression within the EU is merely a product of the English imagination. It would appear that some English concluded that if the English are not ruling the EU, then the EU must be ruling them. Brexit is seem as a very English tantrum. When you have to shoot your way out of the union you want to leave, perhaps we can compare the Irish independence and with the UK leaving the EU... You don't get taught much Irish history in the UK. Mores the pity.
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