Time for Deliberation, not Decision, on the Shape of a New United Ireland: Evidence from the ARINS Survey Focus Groups

Drawing on a series of focus groups (two in Northern Ireland and two in the Republic of Ireland) organised as part of the recent ARINS/Irish Times project, this article explores the views of people who said they did not know how they might vote in a future unity referendum, a group likely to be significant for any future constitutional outcome. We look at the participants' level of information or misinformation on public policy on the 'other' side of the border; we explore how the participants construct their group identity; and we investigate participants' priorities for a constitutional process. Based on this analysis we argue for a sustained and systemic process of discussion and deliberation on the basis of the findings of both the survey and the focus groups, which collectively point to lack of knowledge, lack of prior awareness, and lack of prior discussion, and—for the focus groups—to the openness to discussion.