From Department of Foreign Affairs
By: Minister of State with responsibility for EU Affairs; Peter Burke
Published on
Last updated on
Check against delivery
Thank you very much for the invitation to be here with you today to explore the outlook for business in the years ahead.
Speaking with absolute certainty about the future is something of a tall order, especially when you are talking about the very livelihoods of your audience! I’m very conscious that you are the experts, so today I want to give my sense of the lay of the land today and sketch out the opportunities the Irish Government sees in the years ahead.
Underpinning my remarks is one central message: we are serious about the economic potential of our Shared Island, and how it can help transform the lives of everyone who lives here.
Many of you, in common with those of us in Government, have spent huge amounts of time and energy over the last few years adapting your business models and practices to manage the impacts of Brexit.
I am especially grateful to Stephen, Margaret and Declan for their work dealing with the particular challenges which Brexit has brought to the business community in Northern Ireland and, also, for their clear-eyed assessments of the opportunities ahead.
For me as a Minister, it is vitally important to hear the practical impacts of policy, and the effects of disruptions like Brexit, on business. The open dialogue and engagement which I, my government colleagues and our officials have had with key stakeholders in business and civic society has been, and continues to be, vital to help us determine the right policy choices and outcomes adequate to your needs.
With the first trade facilitations under the Windsor Framework having commenced from 1 October, it is my sincere hope that business can move forward with new certainty.
Brexit has had, and will continue to have, fundamental impacts on the flow of trade across Europe and on this island.
Against this backdrop, concluding the Windsor Framework was a significantly positive development, one which I believe comprehensively addresses the concerns raised by people and business in Northern Ireland.
It ensures that Northern Ireland remains an integral part of the UK internal market while at the same time having access to the EU Single Market. This gives businesses across Northern Ireland an advantage which is globally unique and a major selling point for overseas investors.
The Windsor Framework delivers new arrangements for moving goods and parcels from Great Britain to Northern Ireland, and provides an enhanced role for Northern Ireland stakeholders.
Of critical importance, the Framework also protects the all-island economy – one of the key dividends of the peace process. The government wants to see the all-island economy to continue to grow and prosper.
The agreement also provides an opportunity for an improved British-Irish partnership, which has been so vital for peace and prosperity on these islands, setting a marker for new and sustained cooperation.
I welcome that the agreement on the Framework, and the follow-through we are seeing in terms of implementation, has led to an improvement in relations between the EU and the UK. I am glad a number of important initiatives have been unlocked as a result.
In particular, I want to welcome the recent agreement in principle reached on the UK re-joining the Horizon Europe and Copernicus programmes. I am confident that the UK’s association will strengthen the EU, Irish, and British scientific communities and their ability to jointly tackle global issues.
These are just some practical ways in which a renewed partnership can impact communities and businesses across Northern Ireland.
It is in that same spirit of practicality that I turn to the Irish Government’s Shared Island Initiative. At its core, the Initiative is about engaging with all communities and political traditions to build consensus around how we share this island into the future.
The Initiative involves:
This is a whole of government approach, initiated and coordinated by the Department of the Taoiseach.
To date, the government has allocated €247 million from the Shared Island Fund. With this funding we aim to rapidly progress major cross-border projects like the Ulster Canal restoration and the Narrow Water Bridge project. We are also working across government north and south to identify and develop new projects and programmes to create a more prosperous, sustainable and connected island for all communities.
And throughout this year, Ministers have commenced a series of new Shared Island programmes, including a Civic Society Fund; Community Climate Action scheme; and a cross-border dimension to our flagship Creative Ireland programme.
The government also wants to pursue significantly more all-island investment cooperation with a new Executive – assuming that can be agreed - and with the British government. Cooperation in such areas as on education, transport, healthcare and climate action.
But investment and ambition must be impatient. That is why my government has already announced a major capital investment for a new teaching building at Ulster University in Derry. This will expand student numbers and access to higher education for people across the North West region.
Why are we doing this?
We are doing this because it makes sense. For business, for communities and for the people on this island. We know this because of the overwhelming evidence we have to hand. Cross border trade has tripled in the 25 years since the Good Friday Agreement. The economic dividends of the peace process have done so much across this island. They have lifted whole communities, strengthened existing value chains and created new ones.
My government seeks to play a constructive and positive role in the economic development of the island of Ireland. This is why we recognise that while some may see two jurisdictions as creating natural competitors, the commercial reality is that investing anywhere on this island, north or south, generates substantive knock-on effects across the all-island economy. Effects which improve the quality of life for all.
And yes, the all-island economy is about more than the passive absorption of FDI. It is about seeking new synergies along our cross-border supply chains.
It is also about confronting common challenges together. The impact of climate change does not respect borders. The measures we must take now to avert long term disaster won’t add up to much unless we do so at scale and on a concerted basis.
Business recognises this: the recent KPMG report commissioned by the Northern Ireland Department for the Economy shows that Climate Action Plans are of central concern for the agri-tech sector. That same report also notes the potential of cross-border collaboration and innovation in respect of climate action and other key industry concerns.
Further opportunities arise for businesses across the island in using our geographic location and international reputation as a place to invest and grow business. This island is readily positioned to serve as a spring board for indigenous and international firms to the rest of the EU single market.
Together, our all-island consumer market totals almost seven million. With nearly three million people available to work, together we have a larger collective labour pool than comparators like Denmark, Finland, and Norway.
Our combined population is among the youngest and the most educated in Europe. The island of Ireland’s population is growing at a faster rate than many of our neighbours, including Great Britain, with some eight million people projected to be living on this island by 2040.
There is a collective social and economic imperative to ensure that this growing population has the skills, training and outlook so that the next generation fulfils its potential. In so doing, we will help ensure that this island remains competitive in the face of changing technologies and a more globalised and interconnected world.
The evidence shows that joined up thinking, targeted investment and pragmatic north south cooperation all add value and drive revenue for business.
So what does all of this mean for the future of businesses, north and south as we look ahead?
It means building.
Building on the legacy of achievements which flow from the Good Friday Agreement.
Building on the Windsor Framework as a practical solution to the challenges of Brexit.
Building on the strengths of an all-island economy more entwined, dynamic and prosperous than ever before.
It means investing.
Investing in projects and enterprise north and south to complement existing endeavour.
Investing in education and skills to better equip our labour market to hold its advantage in a rapidly changing world.
Investing in people and communities across this island to secure our shared prosperity.
It means cooperating.
Cooperating with one another north and south, east and west, and with our European and global partners to ensure that this island, its businesses and communities can look to our shared future with confidence.
Building, investing, cooperating.
Because it makes sense, for your businesses today, for our future prosperity, for all of us.
Thank you very much.