SINN Féin have said that the Irish constitution should be amended protect citizens with a British identity in the event of a united Ireland.
The party’s leader in Nortern Ireland, Michelle O’Neill, was speaking at a debate in west Belfast on August 9.
She said an amendment to Ireland’s constitution to recognise people with a British identity could make the concept of a united Ireland more acceptable to unionists.
Ms O’Neill added that Sinn Féin want a poll on Irish unity within five years, despite Prime Minister Theresa May saying the time is “not right” for such a referendum back in March.
Arlene Foster of the DUP said at the time that a poll on Irish unity would be “divisive and destabilising.”
But Ms O’Neill added: "In my vision for a new Ireland, that means that you make sure that people's Britishness is protected."
She said this could be done by changing the constitution and that a "healthy debate" was needed.
"We need to talk about how do we shape the future together - republicans, nationalists, unionists, loyalists, everybody - how do we shape a new Ireland together, because I think the language is very, very important," she said.
"Whenever I talk about a united Ireland, I don't have a prescriptive view about it, but I think everybody in this room will have a view and something to contribute.
"But it's not just a nationalist argument, it's a wider argument because the new Ireland that I envisage incorporates everybody."
The latest poll on the matter suggests that Irish people are divided on the prospect of a united Ireland in the wake of Brexit.
Research conducted by Ireland Thinks found that 50.4 per cent said they would vote in favour, while 49.6 per cent said they would vote against.
