Gabhaim buíochas leis an Chathaoirelach as ucht fáilte a chur romhainn. Tá áthas orainn a bheith anseo. Mar a dúirt sé, is ar chúrsaí trasteorann Thuaidh-Theas, cumarsáide agus gnó atáimid ag díriú inniu. I thank the Chairman for his welcome and I am delighted that together with the other members of the committee he found it possible to receive us and hear what we have to say on issues of North-South development, particularly in the areas of trade and enterprise. I understand the committee has a particular remit for small businesses and we will touch on that matter as well as address general issues.
I will not make any statements on the current political situation unless I am prompted to do so by later questions. However, we all hope for a positive outcome on 24 November, although it may not look good at present. Whatever the outcome, it will have implications for North-South relationships and we could explore the possibilities from that perspective.
Since the October 2002 suspension, the SDLP has placed particular emphasis on developing the North-South agenda. We have done this in various ways, such as seminars and highlighting policy issues in publications, notably North South Makes Sense. We have copies of this document for all committee members, which we will distribute at the end of the meeting. This aspect of our work was launched last autumn with a significant seminar in Derry at which all the major political parties here were represented. The document, which was published with quite a degree of publicity earlier this year, came out of those discussions.
The touchstone for the current aspects of the North-South agenda go back to what the Good Friday Agreement itself envisaged with regard to developing relationships and taking all opportunities provided to improve trade and other aspects of our relationship on this island. We tried to refine our thinking as much as possible in that regard.
Before I move on to discuss some of the issues in the document, I wish to refer briefly to the North's economy. The economy generally receives negative coverage in the press because approximately 65% to 70% of gross domestic product is accounted for by the public sector, which is double the figure that applies in the Republic of Ireland. Having said that, unemployment is very low in Northern Ireland and is at a similar level to that in the South, namely 4% to 5%. Employment is at its highest level ever. We have never had more people at work in the economy as we have at present.
Hidden behind those statistics is the fact that, as in the Republic of Ireland, we still have a low level of economic activity in terms of the labour force. In fact, there is a high level of economic inactivity, of approximately 28% to 30%, which means that there is a large number of people on the long-term unemployment register or completely outside of the register. Many of them possess skills which would enable them to contribute significantly if they were at work. We have a growing number of people from the new member states of the European Union, including Poland and the Baltic states of Latvia and Lithuania, in particular, coming to Northern Ireland, as well as a small number of people from various African countries.
Some of the economic features of Northern Ireland are similar to those in the Republic. The main difference is the North's high dependency on the public sector. We are trying to devise approaches to tackle this issue because it is not the healthiest balance for the economy in the long term. We want more wealth-producing enterprises to develop. Not availing of the opportunities presented by the fact that the North shares the island with the Republic and there is a significant level of economic activity taking place in the latter jurisdiction would be very foolish. In most of the official documents published recently, including the First Report on Economic Challenges Facing Northern Ireland, which was produced by the Assembly over the summer period with all-party support, and the direct rule document setting out a vision for the economy, which is in draft form at the moment, one will find considerable emphasis on developing the North-South agenda. North-South trade is growing but the Economic and Social Research Institute points to the considerable potential that still exists for the further development of that trade.
Under the auspices of InterTradeIreland, one of the bodies established under the Good Friday Agreement, a great deal of activity has taken place to try to encourage cross-Border relationships, particularly among small and medium sized businesses. I urge members to acquaint themselves with the overall strategy and programmes of InterTradeIreland. It has programmes dealing with the research, marketing and logistical needs of companies, North and South. They are helping companies in the North and the South to tender for public sector contracts. More Northern companies are now tendering for contracts issued by Departments and agencies here and Southern companies are beginning to participate in the tendering process for business made available by the public sector in the North. These processes are much more open as a result of European directives. Ignorance remains, however, with regard to the possibilities, so we would encourage this committee to use its influence to encourage and foster those programmes and initiatives which come under the auspices of InterTrade-Ireland.
In order for any economy to thrive, certain developmental prerequisites must be in place, such as infrastructure, telecommunications and education and training. We see considerable opportunities for North-South co-operation on infrastructure. My colleague, Mr. John Dallat, has a particular concern for transport development. We need to move away from what has been described as back-to-back planning on transport and other issues pertaining to spatial policy, so that roads which traverse the Border are planned and developed jointly. Other infrastructural developments should also be addressed in a similar fashion. For example, with regard to health and social services, a particular interest of my colleague, Ms Dolores Kelly, if we are planning major hospital or other social service infrastructure in one part of the island, we should find out what is happening 20 miles across the Border so that unnecessary duplication is avoided and the best possible use is made of an integrated approach. The same could be said with regard to many other public services, such as education and training. On infrastructural issues pertaining to telecommunications, health and other areas, front-to-front rather than back-to-back planning is required.
I draw the committee's attention to the impediments we have identified to North-South mobility and trade. Several years ago, under the auspices of the North-South Ministerial Council, an initial report highlighted impediments which sometimes do not occur to people unless they are confronted with them in their day-to-day activities. This is particularly so for people in the business world, where impediments which arise from different regulatory regimes affect banking and insurance, the labour force and training considerations. By and large, many of the questions arising with regard to recognition of people in professional life have been overcome but recognition problems remain with regard to trades. Social welfare payments made by people working here but living in the North can create problems around pensions, for example. While these issues have, understandably, arisen due to different regulatory and statutory requirements, they are nuisance factors and need to be addressed to reduce their impact and to eliminate them if possible. As long as we have different laws and regulations North and South there will be differences in the way they are implemented. Business people, especially those with small businesses, find these issues to be irritants that create hassle. They may choose not to engage in business where this hassle is seen as an unnecessary burden.
There is a range of such issues, which I urge members to consider, and it would not be possible to go into the detail of them now. On the macro level there are issues relating to infrastructural development that I have pinpointed. There are issues relating to co-operation on planning for various services and there is the general encouragement that can be given to businesses, North and South, to seek opportunities to trade with each other and to avail of opportunities presented by the public procurement process.
This is a general indication of some of the issues this committee is ideally placed to investigate and facilitate, where difficulties need to be overcome. Where co-operation is of mutual benefit it should be encouraged and the necessary investment by both regimes, North and South, made.
I will stop at this point because it is better to take questions and to respond to people's interests rather than to ramble on perhaps not touching on points that people want raised. Before doing so my colleagues, Mr. John Dallat and Ms. Dolores Kelly may wish to add to what I have said and make a contribution.