BUILDING THE ALL-ISLAND ECONOMY

BY CAOIMHE ARCHIBALD MLA

There is no doubt that Irish unity is now a part of the mainstream political debate on the island of Ireland. Brexit is often cited as a game changer and it was, but what is also increasingly obvious is that Irish unity makes sense, including economically. The so-called subvention figures have been exposed as a myth, the economic benefits have been modelled, and more people are looking at the potential offered by a unified Ireland. Standing in stark contrast to that is the status quo. The Northern state in particular has suffered under partition; the lowest economic growth, the lowest productivity, and the highest economic inactivity in these islands. One fifth of workers earn less than a basic living wage and there is a 12% gap in average disposable income compared to the south. These things are the result of decades of structural inequalities that won’t be fully addressed in a constitutional set-up which relies on the British block grant and the whims of Tory Chancellors. Delivering constitutional change to create a fairer, more equal, and more prosperous Ireland for all its citizens unites and drives those of us involved in the campaign for unity and it is what piques the interest of those ambivalent or even opposed in the past. Brexit completely exposed the democratic deficit of the political make-up of the ‘United Kingdom’. One hundred years ago, partition was imposed against the democratic wishes of people on this island. In 2016, the majority of people in the North voted to remain in the European Union, but our vote was ignored. In fact, the outcome of the Brexit referendum would not have changed even if every single citizen in the North had voted to remain. And for many, that is hard to take. Over the course of four years, the ignorance of many English MPs to the North was laid bare; that they didn’t care about our interests or peace, even more so. Painstaking negotiation over those four years was not helped by the belligerence of the DUP

who having campaigned for Brexit opposed any iteration of it which could have made the impact on the North less. Eventually, the Irish Protocol was agreed. It came into effect along with the Trade and Cooperation Agreement on 1st January 2021. The Protocol is no panacea, but it is a least bad outcome for Ireland which protects the Good Friday Agreement, North-South cooperation and the all-Ireland economy, and prevents a hard border on this island. The Protocol has been the focus of much discussion and a fair bit of political posturing and spin. It hasn’t been without its issues, but from businesses in the South in co-locating or expanding into the North. In my view, we need an economic strategy and a trade and investment strategy which can build on this special status to bring jobs and investment to the North and strengthen the all-island economy. The protocol is not the equivalent of being in the EU and there will be barriers because of that. For example, we no longer have mutual recognition of qualifications with the European Union and the British rules on immigration also apply to the North - so we don’t have the same freedom to recruit talented people.

However, we must seek to build on the protections the protocol provides, and support businesses to identify and take advantage of its potential. We should use it to help grow, develop and rebalance the economy in the North and encourage greater all island business development and entrepreneurship to create well-paid, secure, unionised jobs driving the recovery, and importantly a green recovery from COVID. Ultimately, we need to improve the economic performance of the North to create not just more, but better jobs and more opportunities for young people. This will help create a stronger economy across the island. It makes the case on the economic potential of Irish unity stronger and the potential dividends of Irish unity greater for workers, families and businesses across Ireland.

In my view, we need an economic strategy and a trade and investment strategy which can build on this special status to bring jobs and investment to the North and strengthen the all-island economy.

there are mechanisms for resolving those issues diplomatically and politically. One clear advantage to emerge since the beginning of this year has been the significant increase in cross-border trade. In the first quarter of this year, compared with the same period last year, there was a 44% increase in North to South trade and a 22% increase in South to North trade. Business surveys show businesses rethinking their supply chains and moving from suppliers in Britain to suppliers on this island and in the European Union. As a result of the Irish Protocol, which provides unique access to the EU single market and its 450 million consumers, as well as to the British market, there has been significant increase in interest with Invest NI from potential investors. We also know there is significant interest