The North / South project
Policy papers
The Projected Public Finances of the Early Years of a United Ireland
This report calculates the subvention in public finances likely to transfer to “Northern Ireland’ at the time of a United Ireland, based on the most up-to-date UK figures. It is the first peer-reviewed report to calculate the cost of unity over the first ten years, which takes account not only of the subvention, but necessary investment and gradual economic convergence with
the rest of the island.
The report breaks down the key financial issues such as pensions, debt, defence spending, UK central costs and taxation to justify this figure and calculates that the cost of the subvention, currently paid by the UK, which will transfer to a United Ireland will be £1.5 billion pa – not the, often quoted, figures of £10b to £14b.