PEOPLE making the loudest calls for Irish unity are "the most divisive" in how they treat opponents, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.
Mr Martin told a commemoration event for former Taoiseach Seán Lemass in Dublin yesterday that people who do not conform to a specific approach on how to achieve unity have been dismissed and abused.
"It is remarkable how often it is that those who are loudest in calling for national unity who are the most divisive in how they treat people who don’t agree with their particular priorities," he said.
"They have a remarkable range of slurs ready to throw at those who won’t just be quiet and do what they demand."
The Fianna Fáil leader said not enough work has been done to build co-operation and understanding between Northern Ireland and the Republic since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
He said day-to-day coverage of north is largely missing from news and current affairs output from Dublin, meaning that only the "loudest voices" tend to be covered.
Mr Martin said more work needed to be done to find out "exactly what are the similarities and differences between us" on both sides of the border.
He added: "The harsh reality is that in the past two decades we have done too little to take up the historic opportunity of the Agreement to build understanding and cooperation on this island," he said.
"We have too often allowed the rhetoric of the (sectarian) headcount to replace the true republican spirit of engagement. The decision by Sinn Féin and the DUP to sideline and disband the Civic Forum has undermined non-partisan voices."
Mr Martin said his vision of a united Ireland is informed by "that of 1798 and 1916 – one which is defined by diversity not by conformity".
"And the first priority of anybody who values the welfare of this island has to be to restore the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement and show that cooperation is still possible," he said.
"We have to end the destructive cycle of parties collapsing democratic institutions whenever it suits them."
As part of the coalition government's agreement, Mr Martin will step down as Taoiseach at the end of the year in favour of Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar.
Former Fianna Fáil leader Seán Lemass, one of the youngest fighters in the GPO during the Easter Rising in 1916, was Taoiseach from 1959 to 1966 and died in 1971.
Mr Martin said Mr Lemass believed that those in favour of Irish unity must "show those who we want to bring into a united Ireland that it will be a welcoming and protective place for them".
"In Ireland we have a tendency to see politics through a populist lens where it is for 'them' to sort it out, whatever the issue is," he said.
"However there is no escaping the fact that the only route to unity is through everyone taking personal responsibility for challenging themselves and being open to change.
"Equally we have to start being genuinely respectful of difference and allowing a debate where we avoid attacking and dismissing anyone who doesn’t simply fall in line with your view."
