Why the ‘Subvention’ does not matter

"The UK government subvention to Northern Ireland, generally estimated at £10 billion (€11.6 billion), has raised doubts about the viability of a united Ireland based on the capacity of the Republic to absorb a subsidy of this size. Analysing the basis by which the subvention is calculated demonstrates that it includes significant costs which would not be carried over to a united Ireland and other costs that would be part of post-referendum negotiations between the Irish and UK governments."

writes John Doyle, professor in the School of Law and Government in Dublin City University and editor of our journal Irish Studies in International Affairs. 

Professor Doyle's article in today's Irish Times is based on peer-reviewed research published in the special issue of ISIA on ARINS: Analysing and Researching Ireland, North and South. You can read the research in full free of charge on JSTOR.