Sinn Féin may set back unity by aligning with UK parties, taoiseach says

Sinn Féin may "set back unity" by aligning with the nationalist leaders in Britain according to the Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Micheál Martin.

It comes after Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald and deputy leader Michelle O'Neill, SNP leader John Swinney and Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth met in Cardiff on Monday.

The group met in their capacity as party leaders, rather than as officials in their respective governments.

Ahead of the meeting, the leaders signed an agreement which said "Westminster's time is coming to an end", and that the UK government should "prepare" for constitutional change.

The memorandum of understanding said the parties recognised they have different constitutional positions and that each nation will determine its own future "in its own way and in its own time".

The agreement also commits Plaid Cymru, the SNP and Sinn Féin to strengthening co-operation in areas including the economy, renewable energy, relations with Europe and self-determination.

"I'm not into campaigning, but I would make the point that strategically we have never embroiled Northern Ireland in British politics," Martin told Irish broadcaster RTÉ on Tuesday.

"We've always identified the north as exceptional, as being an issue in terms of the partition of Ireland.

"And I think strategically I'm not clear that Sinn Féin is on the right track at all, and may even set back unity by that move that they've made," he said.

Martin added that his role as taoiseach involved working with the UK government to advance and progress relations between the UK and Ireland; between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland; and between the two main traditions north of the border.

"That's how the Good Friday Agreement came about - that the two governments anchored that with all of the political parties in Northern Ireland, developing principles such as parity of esteem, respect for each other's traditions, and endeavouring to move in a reconciled way towards the future.

He said Fianna Fáil is a party that believes in "Irish unity, and we have made our significant contribution".

Martin added that the Shared Island Initiative, is the "most consequential initiative of any Irish government since the Good Friday Agreement".

"And it (Shared Island Initiative) is being very, very well received in Northern Ireland, across the border and across the island actually as well, and we will continue to make progress on key issues."

Responding to the taoiseach's comments, O'Neill said he "would need to catch up with the debate".

"He actually has an obligation in which to prepare and plan. We're calling for some time now for the Taoiseach to actually step in to this debate, to actually encourage the debate, to create a forum in which we can have the preparation and the planning," O'Neill told reporters at Stormont.

"We don't want to see a rinse and repeat of Brexit here."

O'Neill called for an "organised conversation" on the topic and said the taoiseach had "failed thus far".

She added: "Britain embroiled itself in Irish politics a long, long time ago whenever they partitioned this country, so I think the conversation is now exactly where it needs to be."