No one group can have a veto on Ireland's future - Varadkar

Leo Varadkar is the Irish deputy prime minister and the leader of Fine Gael

The Tánaiste (Irish deputy PM) Leo Varadkar has said he believes a united Ireland could happen in his lifetime.

He said while the views of unionists must be "acknowledged and respected", "no one group can have a veto on Ireland's future".

He told delegates at Fine Gael's virtual Ard Fheis on Tuesday that he wanted to see the party establish a branch north of the border.

"We should be proud to say unification is something we aspire to," he said.

"It should be part of our mission as a party to work towards it," the Fine Gael leader added.

Mr Varadkar said there was a growing middle ground in Northern Ireland and Fine Gael should reach out towards it.

However he said unification must not be the "annexation" of Northern Ireland.

'Rainbow nation'

"It means something more, a new state designed together, a new constitution and one that reflects the diversity of a bi-national or multi-national state in which almost a million people are British.

"Like the new South Africa, a rainbow nation, not just orange and green," he said.

"We have to be willing to consider all that we'd be willing to change - new titles, shared symbols, how devolution in the North would fit into the new arrangements, a new Senate to strengthen the representation of minorities, the role and status of our languages, a new and closer relationship with the United Kingdom."

Using the example of Ireland's welfare and pensions system and the UK's healthcare system - the NHS - he said it would require taking the best of both jurisdictions and applying them across Ireland as a whole.

Mr Varadkar also addressed the issue of the Northern Ireland Protocol

The protocol keeps NI in the EU single market for goods, meaning NI-based manufacturers have better EU market access than those in GB.

Mr Varadkar acknowledged unionist opposition to the new Irish Sea border

He said Fine Gael fully appreciated the difficulties it had caused for some in Northern Ireland and the concern it had caused unionists.

But he added it was a consequence of the type of Brexit the British government had wanted.

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"The vast majority of checks and controls can be removed if we all agree to maintain the same high standards when it comes to food and veterinary rules," he said.

"Ideology, pride nor nationalism, of any form, should not prevent us agreeing a solution. The consequences of failure for all of us are far too great."

He also warned against unilateral action by either London or Brussels.