A united Ireland could cost Dublin more than £17 billion every year for two decades, according to a new study, which has warned of an “immediate, major reduction” in Irish living standards if reunification happens.
Ireland would have to raise taxes by about 25 per cent and slash public spending to pay for Irish unity, if Northern Ireland left the United Kingdom after successful referendums on both sides of the border, the study found.
The Irish think tank report said high costs would be incurred if Dublin immediately raised social security benefits and public sector wages in Northern Ireland, the poorest region of the UK, to match the rest of Ireland, which is predicted to have a £56.3 billion budget surplus by 2027.
“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,” Professor John FitzGerald said.
Prof FitzGerald, one of the authors of the Institute of International and European Affairs paper, likened the €20 billion (£17 billion) a-year bill to “a third of a bank bailout every year”.