Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-09-16
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Peadar Tóibín (AON), Meath West

Here is the key issue. At the heart of the Good Friday Agreement is the idea the people of the North of Ireland would determine their future. Right now they have no idea how that can happen. The secretary of state for the North of Ireland recently said that this was an obscure mechanism and that he would not put detail in relation to how that mechanism can be exercised. Why is it that people who have the right to vote are being denied the understanding of what makes that vote likely to happen? Why is it that the Taoiseach will not even ask that question of Andy Burnham? Why is it that he has said he will meet Andy Burnham but he will not raise the issue of the mechanism for a referendum? The best poll in the North of Ireland is the election. Stormont should be the body to decide whether there is a referendum or not. That is the most defining view of the people of the North.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-09-16/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-28T05:50:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-09-16