THE ECONOMIST magazine recently described Ireland as a "sometimes inward-looking island nation". Have we become more insular and parochial as a country since the onset of the recession? Has economic insecurity bred introspective short-term sectional thinking? asks ELAINE BYRNE
For instance, the run-up to the Budget was dominated by what Colm McCarthy described as the temporary “band-aid” proposals by the unions to cut the public sector pay bill through unpaid leave. The constituency hospital deals promised to Jackie Healy-Rae, Michael Lowry, Jimmy Devins and Eamon Scanlon also grabbed media attention. So too did Noel Grealish’s petition for extra flood relief measures.
Yet, despite such demands by vested interests, perhaps the biggest influence on Government decision-making is our evolving relationship with Northern Ireland. On the same day that Brian Lenihan delivered the harshest Budget in the history of the State, British chancellor Alistair Darling delivered his third pre-budget report. In an attempt to stem the migration of shoppers across the Border, Lenihan reduced excise duty on alcohol products and reversed last year’s half percentage point increase on VAT back to 21 per cent. In the UK, Darling raised the VAT rate from 15 to 17.5 per cent.
These measures will begin to erode the current North/South price differential which the Central Statistics Office conservatively estimates has cost the Irish economy €435 million in lost shopping receipts in the first six months of this year.
An incremental harmonisation of policy between the two jurisdictions is occurring in other areas too. Mattie “drink is a relaxant and helps nervous drivers” McGrath was a leading figure in the Fianna Fáil backbencher revolt last October over proposals for new drink-driving limits. Brian Cowen’s statement that legislation on alcohol limits would only be introduced in conjunction with Northern Ireland was gleefully interpreted by McGrath as “kicking to touch” the legislation.
The Fianna Fáil backbencher did not anticipate the immediate intervention by DUP Minister for the Environment Edwin Poots, on Morning Ireland, promising that new drink-driving limits would be in place in Northern Ireland early next year. Some months previously, Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, had met Poots at the North-South Ministerial Council (NSMC) where they discussed the harmonisation of drink-driving limits and the mutual recognition of driving disqualifications.
The North, as a growing actor in our decision-making process, is to be embraced. The inverse is also the case.
Yesterday’s NSMC meeting in Limavady discussed the implications for Northern Ireland of the National Asset Management Agency. Nama will administer some €22 billion in property assets in Northern Ireland and Britain. There are fears that a fire-sale of property assets in the North could trigger economic catastrophe which could potentially destabilise the peace process.
Last month, as a guest of the UK Electoral Commission, I spoke to Northern MLAs and party officials in Stormont about the Irish system of political donations. The North has experienced similar scandals to the John O’Donoghue expenses controversy. Just as the Republic’s political parties are in grave financial difficulty, so too are some of their Northern counterparts, though no general secretary from any political party North or South has the mettle to admit as much publicly. The strengths of our ethics framework complement the weaknesses of the North’s framework and vice versa. We have much to learn from one another.
Most Irish citizens are totally unaware of the scale and intensity of the work undertaken by the North-South Ministerial Council, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this month. Established under the Good Friday agreement, the NSMC co-operates on an all-island basis on matters of mutual interest including agriculture, education, environment, health, tourism and transport.
A cathartic vision of a shared future would seek to implement the rest of the Good Friday agreement. The establishment of the North-South Parliamentary Forum would provide a political space for members from the Oireachtas and the Northern Ireland Assembly to exchange experiences.
This body could drive forward new initiatives such as an all-island energy market or the creation of an all-island IDA body. It would also complement and give greater political legitimacy to discussions held yesterday by the NSMC on cross-Border roads, the strategy for recovery and developing co-operation on the “smart” economy.
Unfortunately, the depth of the split within the North’s powersharing government was on public display yesterday. Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness’s hostile exchanges at the NSMC press conference did Northern Ireland a disservice. The context of economic uncertainty and political instability presents a historic opportunity to break free from the physical and psychological borders that have held this island hostage for too much of its history. We will have only turned the corner when we begin to look outward to each other.