asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the positive steps taken within the framework of the Anglo-Irish economic consultations established following the former Taoiseach's meeting with the former British Prime Minister in September 1977.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Anglo-Irish Economic Consultations.
24.
In view of the length of the detailed reply to the Deputy in this case, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I propose to circulate with the Official Report a statement setting out the information requested.
Following is the statement:
The meeting at which the former Taoiseach, who was accompanied by the former Minister for Foreign Affairs, met the former British Prime Minister on 28 September 1977 agreed that it would be of mutual advantage to improve practical co-operation between this country and the UK on economic matters. It was decided that officials of the two Governments would meet to review the arrangements and opportunities for economic co-operation with particular reference to Northern Ireland. It was anticipated that they would review current and proposed cross-Border studies and identify subjects and areas for further examination, with EEC assistance where appropriate.
On 17 November 1977, in a follow-up to the meeting of the Prime Ministers in September 1977, a meeting was held in London of a steering group of officials on Anglo-Irish economic co-operation. At this meeting it was agreed that a sub-group to deal with North-South matters would be set up to review existing cross-Border contacts with a view to identifying and filling gaps; it would also follow up those cross-Border studies that were already in train and would review proposals for future studies to identify those which would be of practical benefit. This meeting also decided that the respective Departments dealing with energy matters in London and Dublin should be invited to identify those areas of common interest on which discussions or working contacts were already in being and to suggest any further areas which might benefit from similar discussions. In the area of transport the meeting agreed that the respective Departments dealing with transport matters in London and Dublin should be invited to identify those areas of common interest where working contacts existed or discussions were in progress, and to suggest any further areas which might benefit from similar discussion. The British and Irish Customs authorities were also invited to report on existing co-operation and to identify any possibilities for simplifying customs procedures with particular reference to the land border. Finally, it was agreed that there should be consultation on the need for future informal meetings of officials to discuss medium and long-term economic trends and planning by the relevant Departments in Belfast, London and Dublin.
The outcome of the contacts between the various Irish and British Government Departments under the general direction of the Anglo-Irish Steering Group was discussed at a meeting of the steering group which was held in Dublin on 28 February 1978. Full details of the report of the meeting of this group and of the studies carried out by officials in the context of the various areas identified originally by the steering group are available in "Reports on Economic Co-operation" which was produced by the two Governments in June 1978 and a copy of which is available in the Dáil Library.
Since June 1978 numerous further meetings have taken place of the various sub-groups dealing with North-South, energy, customs and excise, transport and economic planning matters and these activities have been co-ordinated and reviewed by two meetings of the Anglo-Irish Steering Group in December 1978 and recently in March 1980.
The meetings of the Steering Group have expressed general satisfaction with the progress in the various identified areas. It would not be possible to go into full details of all the issues that have arisen and have been discussed but the following general information under the various headings may be helpful to the Deputy to supplement the information already publicly available in the "Reports on Economic Co-operation".
North-South matters
An important area considered in this context has been the question of cross-Border studies. As the Deputy will be aware, a study of communications in the Derry-Donegal area has been completed since the end of 1977 and officials from Dublin and Belfast have been monitoring the progress being made on the implementation of the accepted recommendations in this report. Last April a detailed review of progress was prepared and a further progress report was given to Deputies last November in reply to a question put down on the subject. Officials from Belfast and Dublin are currently working on another progress report which I hope will be completed later this month. Also, the Deputy will be aware of the comprehensive study being carried out by consultants employed by the Irish and British Governments and the EEC to examine the question of land resources, development and tourism in the Erne catchment area. The consultants employed for this task are at present completing their final report and I expect that there will be a public launching of the report sometime towards the middle of May.
In the eastern region, officials from Departments in Dublin with their counterparts in Belfast have now completed their examination of existing co-operation in various aspects of infrastructure, planning and development in the Newry-Dundalk area under the headings of industrial development and training, roads, ports, water supply, tourism, exectricity, customs, telecommunications, planning, drainage and fisheries. The production of this latter report has been delayed due to a number of circumstances, but I am pleased to say that it has now been completed and it will be publicly launched in Dundalk on Thursday, 17 April 1980. A copy of this report will, of course, be available shortly in the Dáil Library.
In the Irish Sea a joint study by the two Governments with EEC assistance has also been completed in the Mourne fishery area. This report will be very useful to the fishery managers concerned in the future management of the Mourne herring stock. In addition to these studies a wide variety of other matters of mutual interest have been discussed, including for example the question of a public transport system in the Derry-Donegal area and the possibility of establishing an air link between Dublin and Derry. In the area of cross-Border drainage, the Deputy will be aware that in February 1979 the Council of Agriculture Ministers of the EEC approved a drainage programme for catchment areas on both sides of the Border. The council agreed to support the programme up to a maximum contribution of about £5 million and the schemes chosen for arterial drainage, following consultations between Dublin and Belfast, were the Finn-Lackey, which is a tributary of the River Erne, and the Ulster Blackwater. There have also been discussions in the context of the draft regulation at present being examined within the Community under the non quota section of the European Regional Development Fund. Border areas both here and in Northern Ireland are included in these measures. In our case the amount of money involved will be 16 million units of account and in the case of Northern Ireland the amount involved is eight million units of account. The proposals for Irish Border areas North and South involve a programme of activities in Border counties in the fields of tourism and artisan activities.
Reviews have also taken place on the extensive range of contacts between various Government Departments and agencies both here and in Belfast and there is general satisfaction at the wide range of contacts and co-operation that exists.
Energy matters
Given the vital importance of energy matters, it is inevitable that this question should be the subject of continuing discussions within the context of the Anglo-Irish economic co-operation framework with the authorities both in Belfast and London. A wide range of aspects in the field of energy have arisen and have been discussed, including questions relating to nuclear energy, alternative energy sources and possibilities of an Irish Sea interconnection.
Customs and Excise
The meeting of the Anglo-Irish Steering Group have also reviewed the progress on the co-operation that has taken place between the two customs authorities in the field of customs and excise. In furtherance of the mandate given at the steering group meeting in London in November 1977, customs officials from both here and Britain have recently completed an examination of customs requirements in relation to traffic between the two countries. This study took as its starting point the cross-Border customs procedures and documentation. The implementation in due course of recommendations arising from this stage of the review by the customs authorities should facilitate speedier completion of formalities and movements of goods across the Border. An initial simplification of documentation commenced from the beginning of April this year with the introduction of an aligned set of just two folios comprising, respectively, customs manifest at exportation and customs report at importation.
Transport
The Deputy will be aware that a significant development in this context has been the completion of an agreement on road transport between here and the UK which was jointly signed, in our case by the Minister for Transport, in Dublin on 9 April 1980. The sub-group which deals with the question of transport has also discussed a wide variety of other transport matters of mutual interest. Tourism has also been dealt with within this sub-group. Practical examples of developments in this field have been joint production of a tourism brochure entitled "From the Mournes to the Boyne" which involved the co-operation of the two tourist boards in conjunction with the Newry and Mourne District Council and the East Border Region Committee. In the North-West, a group called the North-West Tourism Group was announced in 1979. The establishment of this group was a direct result of a recommendation contained in the EEC study on cross-Border communications which underlined the need to develop a co-ordinated approach to tourism in the Donegal-Derry cross-Border area. The function of the group, whose members are drawn from Bord Fáilte and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board, is to identify the tourism development and promotional needs of the North-West area and to make recommendations to the appropriate authorities.
The report by officials on the Newry-Dundalk area, which I referred to earlier and which is shortly to be launched, contains specific recommendations for co-operation and joint examination by the tourist authorities North and South of the tourism resources and potential of this area.
Economic Planning
The Anglo-Irish Steering Group has continued to monitor the contacts that have taken place between the various Departments in Dublin, Belfast and London in the general sphere of financial and planning matters.
I trust that the foregoing information will give a broad outline of the positive steps that have been taken and are being taken within the framework of the Anglo-Irish economic consultations established in September 1977. The structures for consultation and co-operation as outlined in the "Reports on Economic Co-operation" continue to operate and every opportunity is taken to ensure that the maximum amount of co-operation and co-ordination takes place in areas of mutual interest.