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Reform Movement (Ireland)

 

 
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Reform Movement (Ireland)
 
 
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The Reform Movement is an organisation which has the ultimate goal of the re-establishment of Ireland
Republic of Ireland

Ireland is an Island country in north-western Europe. The modern Sovereignty state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned by the British on 3 May 1921....
 as a part of the Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, also known as the Commonwealth or the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organization of fifty-three independent member states....
, with the promotion of a British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 cultural background throughout the island of Ireland
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
.

Launch
The group was launched in 1998 shortly after the successful referendum ratifying the Good Friday Agreement and describing itself as a coalition of "new unionists for the new millennium" .






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The Reform Movement is an organisation which has the ultimate goal of the re-establishment of Ireland
Republic of Ireland

Ireland is an Island country in north-western Europe. The modern Sovereignty state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned by the British on 3 May 1921....
 as a part of the Commonwealth
Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, also known as the Commonwealth or the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organization of fifty-three independent member states....
, with the promotion of a British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 cultural background throughout the island of Ireland
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
.

Launch


The group was launched in 1998 shortly after the successful referendum ratifying the Good Friday Agreement and describing itself as a coalition of "new unionists for the new millennium" . At its launch the group called for:

  • support for the creation of the British Irish Council as set out in the Good Friday Agreement.
  • the extension of full British citizenship rights to those who wanted this in the Republic.
  • the appointment of a senior official in the Department of the Taoiseach
    Taoiseach

    The Taoiseach The Taoiseach is appointed by the President of Ireland upon the nomination of D?il ?ireann , and must, while he remains in office, retain the support of a majority in the D?il....
     with special responsibility for minority affairs.
  • Legislative change so that five of the 11 senators
    Senators

    The term Senators can refer to:*The members of a senate*The Singing Senators, a group of U.S. Republican Senators who sang as a barbershop quartet...
     currently nominated by the Taoiseach
    Taoiseach

    The Taoiseach The Taoiseach is appointed by the President of Ireland upon the nomination of D?il ?ireann , and must, while he remains in office, retain the support of a majority in the D?il....
     would be drawn from minority groups in the Republic.
  • State support for Ulster Scots speakers in the Republic.
  • Increased resources for the Garda
    Garda Síochána

    is the police of the Republic of Ireland.The force is headed by the Commissioner who is appointed by the Irish Government. Its headquarters are located in the Phoenix Park in Dublin....
     to help it tackle crime and terrorism.


The group claims to be a voice for "alternative viewpoints" of "Irishmen and Irishwomen who do not fit in the seamless definition" of nationalist or unionist, which it says has served to divide the diverse cultures of the island of Ireland into separate groups of Gaelic-Irish
Gaels

The Gaels are an ethno-linguistic group which originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to Scotland and the Isle of Man. They are speakers of the Goidelic languages languages ? Irish language, Scottish Gaelic and Manx language....
, Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish

"Anglo-Irish" was a term used historically to describe a privileged social class in Ireland, whose members were the descendants and successors of the Protestant Ascendancy, mostly belonging to the Anglicanism Church of Ireland, which was the established church of Ireland until 1871, or to a lesser extent one of the English Dissenters churches...
 and Scots-Irish
Ulster-Scots

Ulster-Scots are an ethnic group in Ireland, descended from mainly Scottish Lowlands Scottish people who settled in the province of Ulster in the north of Ireland....
. It believes the political scene in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland

conventional_long_name = Northern Ireland|native_name= Tuaisceart ?ireannNorlin Airlann|motto =|image_map = Europe location N-IRL2.png...
 is outdated, and that they represent a future vision for the province of Ulster
Ulster

Ulster is one of the four Provinces of Ireland of Ireland, in addition to Connacht, Munster and Leinster. The name is sometimes informally used as a synonym for Northern Ireland, one of the countries of the United Kingdom, although Northern Ireland covers only two thirds of Ulster....
 and Ireland as a whole.

It has previously voiced support for citizens of Ireland
Irish nationality law

Irish nationality law is the law of Republic of Ireland governing citizenship. A person may be an Irish citizen through birth, descent, marriage to an Irish citizen or through Naturalization....
 being given the right to apply for British
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 passports. The group has expressed views that are critical of the status of the Irish language
Irish language

Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic languages of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people....
 leading some critics to question its commitment to pluralism and diversity. However, Reform members would contend that they have no problem with anyone wanting to speak the Irish language but they do object to the "privileged" legal status which they claim the language unjustifiably enjoys. Irish language groups, however, feel that the group opposes parity of treatment for English and Irish speakers.. Reform's policy as set out in their Statement of Aims is for parity between the two languages - this would be a departure from the current constitutional status which places Irish as the First Official Language and English as the Second Official Language.

The Reform Movement is a modified descendant of the southern Irish Unionist tradition.

Criticism


Some people in Ireland object to the agenda of the Reform Movement, citing it as advocating a relationship for Ireland that is not at sufficient arms length from Britain and one which would severely compromise the sovereignty
Sovereignty

File:Leviathan gr.jpgSovereignty is the exclusive right to control a government, a State, a people, or oneself. A sovereign is a supreme lawmaking authority....
 of the Republic, an argument which is undermined by the Republic's adherence to the European Union
European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 European Union member state, located primarily in Europe. It was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community....
. Critics accuse it of being West British
West Briton

West Briton is a pejorative term for an Ireland person who is alleged by the user of the term to be excessively sympathetic to the United Kingdom or who takes his cultural and social cues from Great Britain....
 and apologist. Other criticism is focused on the fact that the group is perceived as opposing the Irish language and supports Commonwealth membership - aims which more traditionally-minded Irish nationalists oppose.

External links



See also


  • West Briton
    West Briton

    West Briton is a pejorative term for an Ireland person who is alleged by the user of the term to be excessively sympathetic to the United Kingdom or who takes his cultural and social cues from Great Britain....
  • Irish Unionist Alliance