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Neo-Unionism in Ireland is a political movement in the Republic of Ireland seeking to reintegrate the country into the United Kingdom. Background In 1801, the Kingdom of Ireland unified with the Kingdom of Great Britain to create the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. However, due to poor governance of Ireland and the disastrous consequences of the Great Famine, resulting in the death or emigration of 25% of Ireland's population, support for Irish Home Rule grew and culminated in the Irish War of Independence and the creation of the Republic of Ireland in 1922. Yet, the political union between the two countries and centuries of English and British rule in Ireland before then left a lasting impact which can still be seen in Ireland today. However, with British-Irish relations often strained during the first few decades of Irish independence, the relations between the two countries is still undergoing a process of normalisation. Arguments for reintegration into the United Kingdom * The Irish economy, which had done well in the 1990s through to the 2000s, would have benefited from being part of a economically stable United Kingdom when the Irish economy crashed. The austerity measures that the Republic of Ireland would have had to have adopted would not have been as severe as the ones that are being felt now, as the costs of bailing out the failed banks would have been shared by taxpayers in the rest of the UK. * Ireland wold have more influence on international affairs and diplomacy, both politically and militarily, as part of NATO, the G8 and as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. Furthermore, a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland would gain additional influence and provide another source of political and economic stability in Europe. * Ireland imports heavily from the United Kingdom and exports heavily back to the United Kingdom. Ireland would benefit from leaving the Eurozone and reintegrating into the Sterling area where Ireland has some more control over monetary policy, aiding the fiscal policies of Ireland to improve the overall economy. *Whilst many people in both the Republic of Ireland and the UK would like to see a reunited Ireland, current popular opinion in Northern Ireland seems to suggest a strengthening in favour of remaining part of the UK with a notable rise among Catholics. Whilst this may not necessarily mean that the Irish Republic should join the UK, although it would achieve Irish unity within Britain, Neo-Unionism may be an option to consider if British-Irish relations are considered to be normalised and continue to be good. Arguments against reintegration into the United Kingdom *Sinn Fein remains a significant political force in Northern Ireland compared with the Republic of Ireland, where it has a smaller standing. As the situation presently stands, the desire for Irish Unity independently of the United Kingdom is greater than the desire of the Republic of Ireland rejoining the UK. *The Republic of Ireland currently represents itself as an independent voice in major organisations such as the EU and UN, giving Ireland a greater voice to air its national concerns abroad than if it were part of a fully-integrated and broader state, such as the UK. *Due to the imbalance of the population across the British Isles, in that 50 million of the British Isles' 65 million or so people live in England alone, the current political system of the UK is currently perceived to be acting in the interests of England rather than the UK as a whole, even under the UK's semi-devolved system. If Ireland were to join the UK, despite the fact that Ireland would send MPs to Westminster and help to alter the English-Celtic population imbalance, there is no guarantee that the British would act in Irish interests. An independent Ireland gives Ireland an equal footing with the UK and the UK cannot act in Ireland without Irish consent, such as the promotion of building windfarms in western Ireland. Support for reunification of Britain and Ireland Whilst some support reunification between Britain and Ireland, support for reunification currently appears minimal. There are however a number of people and groups who believe that the Republic of Ireland should rejoin the Commonwealth of Nations. In 2010, Fine Gael TD Michael Ring of County Mayo said in a BBC article that he would like to see Ireland reestablish the British monarchy in the Republic of Ireland.
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