Helen Keogh
Question:30 Ms Keogh asked the Minister for Enterprise and Employment the initiatives, if any, being taken to develop a North-South economic corridor. [2917/97]
Written Answers. - North-South Economic Corridor.
As the Deputy is aware, a private sector initiative, under the auspices of the IBEC/CBI Northern Ireland Joint Business Council, is currently promoting the development of a Belfast-Dublin economic corridor. This very commendable initiative sprang from the findings of a feasibility study carried out in 1994 which sought to determine if such an initiative was worth pursuing.
On 28 January last, IBEC/CBI organised a conference in order to further this matter. Interested parties from the US, Canada, Great Britain and Italy were represented, where similar economic corridors are flourishing. Representatives from the EU Commission were also present. The results of the conference will now be analysed by the joint business council and an action plan drawn up.
Reference was made at the conference to the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) proposal for a pilot project on networks and the possibility of looking at this also in Northern Ireland. My Department is currently working with Forbairt on the establishment of a pilot networking programme as recommended by the Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (STIAC). I will ask them to examine the feasibility of incorporating a North-South element into this initiative, particularly with a view to the potential for exploiting clusters described as already existing in embryonic form in the corridor.
The work of the joint business council, through its task force, in promoting the economic corridor is aimed at complementing rather than replacing existing cross-Border initiatives and in the light of the potential contribution it can make to both economic well-being and cross-Border co-operation on the island as a whole, I shall be watching its deliberations with interest.
It is worth stressing, however, that an economic corridor as proposed would be but one strand of a variety of initiatives and my Department and the agencies which fall within my remit have been and continue to be involved in a number of such cross-Border initiatives to promote and develop industry, these being as follows:
Ambit — the American management and busines internship training programme, administered by Forbairt, is designed to offer hands-on training in US host firms for managers and technical experts from Northern Ireland and the Border counties.
ACUMEN programme is a cross-Border sales-business development programme. It supports small and medium companies to increase cross-Border sales and to develop other forms of commercial co-operation in both parts of Ireland. The programme is actively supported by the main economic development agencies including Forbairt, FÁS and Cavan county enterprise board.
The IFI-Business enterprise programme aims to stimulate local enterprise, create awareness of the potential for self-employment and encourage business to grow profitably, develop and seek new markets and to increase their competitiveness. Forbairt and Cavan county enterprise board are represented on the management board of the programme.
Also, a number of initiatives to help accelerate industrial and economic development as an aid to promoting a permanent cessation of violence include: the White House conference for trade and investment in Ireland, and the EU initiative for a special support programme for peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland and the Border counties — the Delors Package.
Other initiatives, related to developing links with North America encompass: the North American partnership programme (NAPP) which is promoted by Forbairt in conjunction with the IFI, and the Forbairt small business administration business partnership initiative.
In addition, there is an INTERREG programme which is an EU initiative for the Border counties and Northern Ireland — excluding Belfast. This has proved a very useful addition in relation to my Department's various promotional strategies.