Perspectives

The future of Ireland and Northern Ireland

The context of the UK leaving the EU, also known as Brexit, has given rise to a series of questions about the future of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Specifically, the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland has been one of main issues up for debate.

The central problem is that the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland is currently a soft border, which means that it does not have strict border control and people can generally travel across it quite easily. This was one of the main points in the Good Friday agreement that ended the Troubles, and it has helped secure peace between the two areas.

It is possible to have such a soft border because both Ireland and Northern Ireland are currently in the EU, but many fear that Brexit might force a hard border between the areas, as strict control is usually required for people and goods travelling in and out of the EU (and the Republic of Ireland will still be in the EU). Both the UK and the EU have expressed a desire to avoid such a hard border, as all parts to the negotiations realise that this might provoke conflict in the region, but agreeing on a specific way to avoid it has proven difficult.

Many people in Northern Ireland are not happy about Brexit, as the m...