FORMER Taoiseach Leo Varadkar says he believes a United Ireland will happen, but it is not inevitable without hard work.

Mr Varadkar was speaking at a packed event in St Mary's University College in West Belfast this afternoon. 

The Féile an Phobail event saw Leo Varadkar in conversation with Rev Karen Sethuraman, a board member of Ireland's Future.

"I believe we will have a United Ireland. I don't think its inevitable. There is nothing inevitable in politics," he stressed.

"It is something that has to be worked towards. The trends and time are on our side. Demographics and opinion polls are not showing unification yet, but moving in that direction.

"We need to prepare for a border poll, both here in the north and in the south. In the south, I feel support for unification is very wide but not very deep."

The former Fine Gael leader who has now stepped aside from politics said that in a referendum on Irish unity, the future of the island will be uppermost in most minds. 

"If people are just thinking about what is the best for their kids and grandkids, a United Ireland is a better proposition than 20 or 30 years ago," he said. 

"When I was growing up in the 1980s, the reality was that in the North of Ireland, life was better for people. The roads were better, people were paid more but today that has totally turned on its head."

Leo Varadkar served as Taoiseach from 2017 to 2020 and from 2022 to 2024, as Tanaiste from 2020 to 2022, and as the leader of Fine Gael from 2017 to 2024.

Irish unification will only come about if it is an objective of civic and political leaders, he added.

"Just saying it is an aspiration isn’t enough any more. It should be an objective which is something you act on," he added.

"I have proposed the establishment of a forum for parties interested in talking about unity. I hope at some point in the term of this Government, that decision will be taken. Power-sharing was never necessarily the end game. It was part of the vision we voted for in 1998, that unification was a real possibility. There would not have been a Good Friday Agreement if there was no provision for unification down the line. Irish unification needs to be something that is better for all of us. It needs to involve everyone, and not just politicians. Grassroots work is also very important."

And Mr Varadkar said an olive branch should be extended to those not yet convinced of the merits of a United Ireland. 

 “I believe that building a new and united Ireland is the next step in our national journey," he said. The future of this island and all our peoples and communities will be central to the discussion. There are also people open to persuasion, who are there to be convinced.”