More investment is needed to tackle the negative impact of the Border on local communities, a development group claimed today.
Researchers Brian Harvey, Assumpta Kelly, Sean McGearty and Sonya Murray have called for additional government expenditure in areas such as health, transport, community and social services.
A message emerging from The Emerald Curtainstudy, which is to be discussed by more than 150 delegates at a conference in Co Cavan today, is the need to rapidly develop cross border institutions and co-operation on sectors such as mobility, currency transfers and insurance.
The study, which was commissioned by the Triskele Community Training and Development, also highlighted the negative impact of the Border on women, ex-prisoners, displaced people and the Protestant community in the Republic.
The report found that about 2,000 ex-prisoners from Northern Ireland settled along the Border with their families.
"Many suffered mental distress and considerable difficulty in readjustment on their release. This group continues to face difficulty in accessing employment due to both legal and illegal discrimination," the researchers said. "Legal barriers prevent the holding of vehicle licences and travel."
About 11,000 displaced people arrived into counties south of the Border during the Troubles.
The researchers took the village of Clones, which lies near the border, as an example of a community affected by the division through the economic war and the split with sterling.