Northern Ireland Requirements for vote on Irish unity have not been satisfied, Belfast City Council told Close 1/1 Deirdre Hargey (Niall Carson/PA) Gallery 1 Deirdre Hargey (Niall Carson/PA)

The Northern Ireland Office has told Belfast City Council that the requirements for an Irish unity referendum have not been satisfied.

Government departments in London and Dublin responded to a motion passed by the Council at its meeting in December.

The motion called for the establishment of a 'New Ireland Forum' alongside a series of Citizens' Assemblies ahead of a border poll, as well as specific details from both governments as to what conditions would facilitate a referendum.

Matthew Ellesmere, from the Northern Ireland Office in London, sent a response on behalf of the British Government to Suzanne Wylie, chief executive of Belfast City Council.

It said: "This Government fully recognises and respects the fact that a significant section of society in Northern Ireland legitimately regards itself as Irish and aspires to a united Ireland.

"The Belfast Agreement itself allows for people living in Northern Ireland to identify as British, Irish, or both. This Government's clear preference is for Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom. We have always made clear that, in accordance with the 1998 Agreement, it is for the people of Northern Ireland to decide and we will always back their democratic wishes.

"It remains the Secretary of State's view that a majority of the people of Northern Ireland continue to support Northern Ireland's place in the United Kingdom and that this is unlikely to change for at least the foreseeable future. The circumstances set out in the Belfast Agreement that require the Secretary of State to hold a referendum on Irish unification are therefore not satisfied."

The Irish government response failed to commit to the creation of a forum, and offered no further criteria for a border poll. The letter states: "The Taoiseach has stated that the Government will continue to listen to and engage with the views of everyone on this island, both on rights issues and on the constitutional future that they wish to see for NI - whether nationalist, unionist or neither. These are extremely important issues which naturally require very careful and serious consideration and the Government will continue to engage and reflect on them."

The motion, proposed by Stormont Communities minister and former councillor Deirdre Hargey, states: "This city has an ever-growing population of young people who will ultimately have to live with the long term consequences of this British Government's damaging policy of attempting to drag citizens out of the European Union against the wishes of the majority of citizens in Belfast who voted to remain.

"There is no Brexit that is a good Brexit for the citizens of Belfast or elsewhere in Ireland. This council must, therefore, investigate alternative solutions to Brexit that seek to protect its citizens from the damaging effects which Brexit will ultimately bring. In seeking alternative solutions to protect Belfast citizens, a referendum on Irish Unity, as enshrined within the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, must be legitimately considered.

"This is a solution that would protect our citizens from Brexit and is supported by categorical statements from the European Council where, in the event of Irish Unity, the citizens in the north would be returned back into the European Union."

Belfast Telegraph