FORMER Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams appears to have moderated his party’s stance on a border poll, arguing that the shape of a united Ireland needs to be mapped out ahead of any vote.
The Louth TD said the lesson from Brexit was that a "referendum without a plan is stupid" and that the Dublin government had a "duty to plan for unity".
Mr Adams made the remarks in his regular blog under the heading 'Planning for Irish Unity'.
His words come less than a year after his successor Mary Lou McDonald faced accusations of performing a U-turn after first claiming the time wasn't right for a referendum only to insist 24 hours later that her party wanted one "as soon as possible".
Mr Adams said a referendum on unity must be "set in a thoughtful inclusive process" which set out "sustainable options", including phases of transition.
Pointing to recent debate about unity among civic nationalists in the north and "voices being raised from within unionism", the former West Belfast MP said the 2011 census was a "watershed" that revealed less than half Northern Ireland's citizens identified as British.
He said indications elsewhere that demographic changes were occurring had been underlined by recent election results, which showed unionism no longer had a majority.
Mr Adams said the need for the "protections" former DUP leader Peter Robinson had spoken of last year had long been recognised by republicans and nationalists.
"No one I know who wants a united Ireland believes that it should be any other than a warm house for unionism, built on a foundation of equality and inclusiveness – this is evident in the debate taking place on the unity issue," he said.
But the former Sinn Féin president said that while his party was the "most vocal" on campaigning for a united Ireland, other parties in the Republic had "dusted down their uniting Ireland positions".
Mr Adams said republicans often dismissed nationalist talk from Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Labour as "rhetoric" but that that missed the point.
"Of course it’s rhetoric – but it is also popular, so the taoiseach and the Fianna Fáil leader will continue with it," he said.
"Our task is to get them to move beyond the rhetoric. To follow the logic of their utterances. To move from platitudes to planning."
The Louth TD said the Dublin government need to begin consultations on how a process of dialogue should evolve and what, if any, transitionary phases should there be on the road to unity.
"Winning support for a united Ireland is not just about persuading unionists although that is crucial," he said.
"Everyone needs to be convinced of the advantages of unity – personal, economic, wages, health provision, environmental, cultural, peace, prosperity."
A spokesman for Leo Varadkar said the Republic's government believed it is not "the right time" for a border poll.
"The first priority must be to get the institutions in the north up and running," he said.
"The present talks are an opportunity for all Parties to work out solutions to the issues currently on the table."
DUP East Belfast MP Gavin Robinson said Mr Adams has been "resurrected and wheeled out of retirement" in the wake of Sinn Féin's poor performance in the Republic's two recent elections.
"Unionists shouldn’t be complacent about promoting the union and making Northern Ireland a home for everyone but equally they shouldn’t be spooked by a Gerry Adams united Ireland blog post," he said.
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood, who has previously spoken about the need to plan ahead of a referendum, welcomed Mr Adams's call but noted that it had "taken parties too long to come to that realisation".
"I’m glad to hear that Sinn Féin is moving to the position that I have been outlining for some time," he said.
"Their initial reaction to my suggestion that calling for a border poll with no plan or idea on how it would be delivered would be madness was entirely negative. Indeed, they have spent months attacking SDLP members for that view."
In recent weeks, former SDLP deputy leader Seamus Mallon proposed the idea that a qualified majority should be required to secure a united Ireland, saying that 50 per cent + one in favour would lead to future instability. The taoiseach has also raised questions in the past about the merits of a simple majority being enough to ensure a united Ireland.
