Across the globe, the communication revolution is creating new challenges, new opportunities and new allegiances. Once suppressed minorities have reasserted themselves in the face of state sponsored identities. Here in Ireland, explosive economic growth has created a new and more self-confident nation, in which the boundaries set by the past are increasingly irrelevant. We of the Southern Unionist tradition want to contribute to the debate about the future of our country. We have proudly renewed the Irish Unionist Alliance to express our convictions.

We stand for all those in the four provinces of Ireland who feel as Irish as they do British, and as British as they do Irish.

We are a non-sectarian organisation. We welcome members without regard to religion or origin. We intend to advance our beliefs by all legal and ethical means, and in the first instance through the world wide web. This web page will be updated regularly. And we want everybody to feel free to comment on what we have to say. Our Unionism has nothing to fear from debate.

We recognise that the political changes we aspire to will not be achieved in the near future, and can only be brought about with full hearted consent of all concerned. Our goals are ambitious, our approach realistic.

In the atrium of The Palace of Westminster just outside the entrance to The House of Commons chamber, there stands an impressive monument to the unity of our islands. At each corner hangs a large painting of the patron saints of the four nations which make up The British Isles. Along with St. David of Wales, St. Andrew of Scotland and St. George of England, St. Patrick of Ireland casts his imposing gaze on the statues of David Lloyd George, Clement Attlee, and Winston Churchill.

In a debate at Trinity College Dublin, our former Taoiseach John Bruton envisaged the development on the British Isles of what he called a "multipolar variable geometry federalism." The phrase may be cumbersome, and he would no doubt not agree with all that we say here, but his point is exactly ours. Above all he points to the way in which the divisions opened up between our peoples in 1919-1923 can be bridged by a new generation of leaders free from the animosities of the past.

The long term interests of the Irish people are best served within a new federal relationship with the United Kingdom. The precise architecture of this new arrangement cannot yet be determined. But in time we hope to see all the Irish people once more represented at Westminster, but in a way that decisions which are exclusively Irish are taken in Ireland. Unionism should not be confused with centralisation.

Irishmen have been sidelined from the centre of political life in the British Isles for too long. Irishmen and women must regain centre-place in that shared political life. We believe all Irishmen should examine with interest the evolving nature of Scottish and Welsh devolution as models through which Irish aspirations - both unionist and separatist - can be reconciled. We must not let our history of division prevent the establishment of political institutions which best reflect the realities of our islands.

Ours is therefore a practical unionism grounded in the reality that the British Isles is a cultural, economic and social union bound together by close ties of language and friendship. We plan to build on these already existing social and cultural links between our islands. We look forward to establishing relations with those whose experience and concerns are similar to ours in Scotland, Wales, and other parts of the world, and working with others in Southern Ireland who share our post-separatist agenda.

We believe that our policy makers should look closely at The Nordic Council which provides an important forum for the resolution of shared problems in Scandinavia. As a first step we believe that The British Irish Council should be given real authority over all matters which for practical reasons are best dealt with jointly by the two countries. We are for example sure that tourism and the protection of our natural environment could be promoted most effectively by co-operation across the Irish Sea. We believe that the Council should have regular and frequent meetings; and that its proceedings of the Council should be well publicised perhaps on its own web site. Above all we believe that the meetings of The Council should not be allowed to become mere formalities. This, we believe, would be in conflict with the spirit of The Good Friday Agreement.

In order to carry out its functions effectively we think that the Council should be given adequate resources and a full time secretariat. We note that The Nordic Council has a staff of about a hundred. There is, of course, nothing to be said for bureaucracy for the sake of bureaucracy, and we believe that the Council should make frequent use of outside technical experts and consultants in order to keep costs to a minimum.

We believe that in time that the Council should be elected directly. This would provide for greater democratic accountability, and would force our politicians to work together on real problems, thus bringing home to them the extent to which our future can only be a shared one. We believe that the council should be allowed to evolve in the light of practical experience. And that such developments should take place in conjunction with the new devolved institutions within The United Kingdom. We repudiate the idea that separatist ideology should be allowed to stand in the way of such changes. We will be monitoring the situation closely and reporting events on this web site.

We recognise that our primary political objectives are unlikely to be achieved in the near future, or in the form that we would prefer. In the meantime we believe that there should be a radical review of the symbols and ethos of the Republic of Ireland. We note that while expressions of nationalist sentiment are widespread in Northern Ireland expressions of British identity are still not possible in the Republic. This must change. We call for an amendment to the Constitution to make the Republic officially bilingual. Both language communities should be treated as equals, and recognition ought be given to the rights of Ullans (Ulster-Scots) speakers in the Republic. We also believe that the Republic of Ireland should rejoin the Commonwealth, as a Republic. British citizenship should be available as a matter of right to all those born in Ireland who request it, thus giving everyone born on this island the right to choose between British citizenship, Irish citizenship or both.

The Irish Unionist Alliance supports the constitutional position of Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom. After 200 years of Union between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, it is clear that the Union has proven itself of great benefit economically to both communities in Northern Ireland.

We are convinced that the future of Northern Ireland will not be moulded by apportioning blame for what has happened there in the last thirty years. There has been grievous fault on both sides. The constitutional question has been resolved by the Agreement. We hope that the amendments to Articles 2 and 3 will pave the way to a new era of mutual respect and understanding between the diverse peoples who share this island.

We believe that both traditions in Northern Ireland must be given a meaningful say in the joint running of the province. And that the symbols of both identities and traditions should be accorded proper respect- in a way which satisfies the aspirations of all who live there. We therefore support the proposals set out in the Good Friday Agreement for the government of Northern Ireland.

The Irish Unionist Alliances believes that no solution in Northern Ireland will be viable unless it provides some measure of justice for the victims of terrorism on both sides. Nevertheless, recrimination has no place in the new Ireland that is emerging. We believe moreover that imaginative steps, involving, both governments, churches, and educational institutions need to be taken to prevent another embittered generation growing up in Northern Ireland.

We believe that Ireland has a wider future than that envisaged within The European Community. Our belief in the importance of re-establishing the political relationship between Great Britain and the Republic of Ireland is founded on the fact that the British Isles are a natural economic and social unit. The two islands have enjoyed one language, and form one labour market. We do not believe that this is true of those countries which make up the European Union.

Membership of the European Union has benefited Ireland economically. Historically, these economic benefits have dampened true debate in Ireland about the direction in which the European Union is moving. As a European superstate emerges our interests as a small nation on the fringes of Europe are getting increasingly ignored.

We do not believe that the United Kingdom should exchange the Pound for the Euro. The economic benefits for so doing are far from clear. 78% of Foreign Direct Investment into the United Kingdom comes from outside the Eurozone. Equally, the cost involved in terms of the loss of economic flexibility and sovereignty is stark. By the same token, it is open to question as to whether being a member of the single currency block will, at the end of the day, prove to be in Ireland's long term economic interests.

The primary aim of The Irish Unionist Alliance is to rebuild our relationship with the peoples of the United Kingdom. Nevertheless we believe that this new relationship should be flexible enough to include not simply membership in the Commonwealth, but also the exploration of quite new alternatives. We are excited by the debate taking place on both sides of the Atlantic as to the advantages of creating a new North Atlantic Free Trade Area incorporating the United States, the British Isles and Canada. We believe that Ireland along with the United Kingdom, is ideally suited to play a leading role in such a free trade area - not least because of our shared position, language, culture, legal system, and close ties with Canada and the United States.

Our vision then is of an Ireland free from the shackles of separatism. An Ireland linked in a new friendship with the peoples of the rest of These Isles. An Ireland in which all peoples can enjoy real power over their own laws, an Ireland prospering in the global economy, an Ireland truly at peace with herself.