Delaying an all-Ireland referendum for the next 30 years could transform relationships on the island, Dr Ian Paisley's Democratic Unionist Party claimed today.
The call for no border poll for at least a generation is included in new proposals on north-south co-operation unveiled by the DUP.
Uncertainty over when the British government will put the desire for a united Ireland to the test has held back attempts to reach a workable agreement between unionists and nationalists, the party claimed.
The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland can call a referendum whenever it is felt a majority would favour scrapping the Border. Even if most voted against such a move, new ballots could be held every seven years under the terms of the Belfast Agreement.
But a DUP spokesman said: "If we can take the constitutional question off the table, it would make it easier for both sides to come together and find an accommodation.
"It would create the conditions in which a new agreement can be reached and the stability to improve relationships between the north and south. It would also transform community relations within Northern Ireland."
The 28-page document, North-South, East-West, sets out the position of the biggest party in the suspended Stormont Assembly on how relationships between the North and all regions Ireland and Britain can be improved.
Although the DUP is willing to work with Dublin for practical purposes, it insists all dealings should be accountable to the Northern Ireland Assembly.
PA