Mr Martin said there is a long way to go to achieve unity, after the new survey also showed that there is a majority of more than four to one in favour of a united Ireland in the Republic.
Taoiseach Micheal Martin said he is “not surprised” twice as many people from Northern Ireland would vote to remain in the UK rather than for Irish unity.
Mr Martin said: “To me, since the day we signed the Good Friday Agreement, it’s been a journey of trying to build reconciliation, mutual understanding, and we have a long way to go. “It’s good campaign and it’s got a certain level, but it doesn’t change a whole lot. In my view, I’m much more focused on what I would judge to be the substance of the issues facing us.
“That’s not just politics, I think it’s also economy. I see a lot of progress, and I think a lot of people in the North and the Republic want to see things working, want to see their politicians get on with the institutions that have already been created by the Good Friday Agreement.” The poll also revealed that people in the Republic are not willing to make concession to unionists in a united Ireland, with half saying that any changes to the National anthem and flag would put them off voting in favour of unity.“We’ve got to be careful about opinion polls at a particular point in time. A lot of work has to go into all sorts of scenarios that people come to change opinions. It’s not going to happen in terms of opinion polls,” he added.
“It’s very substantive. It’s very strong. It’s deals with a whole range of different communities that the model of a Citizens Assembly could never ever achieve.”
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