Sinn Fein's fantasy economics

Kurt Hubner and Mary Lou McDonald

There is something rather ridiculous about a new report claiming that Irish Unity would bring great economic advantages.  It was launched in Dublin yesterday and then launched in Belfast today but in fact it was actually completed in August last year and then launched in New York last November.

Of course having failed to deliver a United Ireland by 2016 and having failed to deliver a border referendum in 2016, Sinn Fein are scrambling round for something to take the bad look off their failure.  That probably explains why Sinn Fein decided on the re-launch and then re-re-launch of an old document.

As regards the report it is presented as being 'independent' but in fact it was commissioned by Sinn Fein under the cover name Knights of the Red Branch, 'a San Francisco Bay area-based non-profit social welfare organisation and conflict resolution through education.'  In reality it is a front for Sinn Fein.  So hardly independent!!

I am also amused by their use of the name Knights of the Red Branch as the Red Branch Knights served the King of Ulster and fought to keep out of the men of the south - a sort of early partitionist army.  Ah well, their knowledge of ancient tradition is probably as bad as their understanding of economics.

The credibility of the document was certainly not enhanced by the disclosure in An Phoblacht that the authors had done a similar report arguing for the unification of for North and South Korea.