"Our position is we want a border poll in the lifetime of the assembly, and we don’t have an assembly. What we are interested in is a debate about it. Let’s argue all of this out, particularly… against the background — and it will soon be the foreground — of Brexit," Adams told reporters.
In January, UK Prime Minister Theresa May said the United Kingdom would not remain a member of the EU single market after Brexit, raising concerns that a physical border would be reinstated between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Adams said Sinn Fein was getting feedback from border communities, particularly farmers, about the impact of Brexit. About 10,000 people live on one side of the border and work on the other.
"Given the oncoming consequences of Brexit, which I’m sure are already being felt in the farming industry and the dairy industry, people actually have a sense of value of the all-island cross-border nature of the Good Friday Agreement," Adams added.
Northern Ireland’s unionist parties no longer have a majority in the devolved government assembly following the March 2 snap election. Sinn Fein won 27 assembly seats, just one behind its rival Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).
The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) secured 12 seats in Thursday’s election while the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) won 10 seats, the Alliance Party retained its 8 seats, the Greens got two seats and the People Before Profit and Traditional Unionist Voice each got one seat. One seat was secured by an independent unionist.
