The 'south' (the Republic of Ireland) will never 'take responsibility for' Northern Ireland. It may be that the two will unite again as one nation at some stage.

Northern Protestants are terrified that a united Ireland would mean that they were under the thumb of people who hate their religion and obey bigoted priests.

It will take a while for this image - which was horribly and sadly true as recently as 50 years ago - to die away.

North and south have been divided by the Border to the extent that most people in the Republic of Ireland now know few people from Northern Ireland, other than those who have migrated south.

What's needed now is what is actually happening: businesses expanding from one side of the Border to the other, and tourism encouraging people from either side of the Border to get to know their unknown neighbours on the other side.

No one in Ireland wants to talk about it because it's all too delicate right now.