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Author John Doyle said other reports will “grossly exaggerates the probable real cost of unity”.Alamy, file
Calculation once again
United Ireland would cost €3bn in first year, but all burdens would disappear within ten years
The report from Dublin City University is the first peer-reviewed study on the cost of a united Ireland.
10.29am, 3 Jul 2025
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A UNITED IRELAND would cost €3bn in the first year, but any financial burdens would disappear within a decade, according to a new report from Dublin City University.
The report, the first peer-reviewed study on the cost of a united Ireland, says an initial investment of €1bn in public expenditure would reduce the cost of a 32-county Ireland gradually.
Author professor John Doyle critiques other projections that say the level of subsidies from the UK government to Northern Ireland, quoted as up to £14bn per year, makes unity not economically feasible.
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Doyle says the figure “grossly exaggerates the probable real cost of unity”.
The initial public spending deficit, inherited by the south from the north, would be roughly €1.75bn, he estimates. A gradual implementation of a 48% increase in public pay, over 15 years, would bring wages in line with the Republic’s.
It would cost €152m per year, for 15 years.
Last year, a report by the Institute of International and European Affairs found that a united Ireland would cost €20 billion every year for 20 years. However, it was disputed the estimates of the subvention, or public spending.
At the time, Research Professor of Economics Seamus McGuinnes at the ESRI, said the IIEA report was “problematic” and was drafted under the assumption that a “border poll takes place on a Friday and everything transfers on a Monday”.
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Muiris O’Cearbhaill
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Calculation once again
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