I am delighted to have this opportunity to respond to a motion which is both helpful and opportune.
I welcome the significance which the motion attaches to the special programmes of assistance which the European Union and the United States are preparing in support of the peace process. The motion also rightly recognises that the climate for investment in tourism and trade on either side of the Border has been transformed by the developments of the past nine months.
With the ending of all paramilitary campaigns of violence, an unprecedented opportunity has been created for the economic and social regeneration of Northern Ireland and of the southern Border counties. We must work in every way possible to reconstruct the economic fabrics of the areas which have suffered most from these campaigns, whether directly or indirectly. We must do everything possible to bring badly needed investment and employment into areas which have been blighted by violence, unrest and deprivation for the past quarter of a century.
The additional resources which the European Union and the United States are generously making available in this context will make a key contribution to this process. They will help to consolidate the enormous achievements of the past nine months and to ensure that the peace which has taken hold becomes irreversible.
The Irish and British Governments wish to see the peace underpinned by real improvements in the material prospects of the populations, North and South, which have been worst affected by the last 25 years of violence. It is vital to ensure that the opening towards lasting peace, stability and prosperity which has now been created is utilised to the full. We must work together to realise the benefits of peace for both economies and to build a better future for all of the people of Ireland.
The European Union has launched a special support programme to assist the process of peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland and the Border counties. Last December's European Council in Essen approved a package of assistance specially focused on peace and reconciliation which will amount to 300 million ECU over the three year period from 1995 to 1997, with the possibility of additional resources for a further two year period. This initiative is new and distinctive and additional to the European Union's existing Structural Fund assistance for Ireland. It will cover the following broad themes: employment, urban and rural regeneration, cross-Border development, social inclusion, productive investment and industrial development.
It is agreed that a maximum of 80 per cent of total funding under the initiative will be allocated to Northern Ireland and that a minimum of 20 per cent will be allocated to the six Border counties. It is also agreed, and this is particularly significant for the Border counties, that at least 15 per cent of total funding will be earmarked for activities carried out in a cross-Border context.
Guidelines for the initiative have been published by the European Commission. The Irish and British Governments are co-operating actively with the Commission at present to bring the initiative into effect with all possible speed. We have submitted a joint operational programme for the initiative which the Commission is currently examining. It is hoped that this programme can be finalised and adopted by the Commission before the summer break. When it is ready interested groups in the eligible area will be invited to submit applications for assistance under the individual headings of the programme. A great deal of work has already been done in this area and I hope it is completed as early as possible.
The Government regards the allocation for cross-Border development — at least 15 per cent — as a crucial component of the initiative. The scope for cross-Border co-operation in the areas covered by the initiative is enormous and we look forward to proposals being presented which will enable this dimension to be availed of in full. I am sure some of the Senators are familiar with the whole system of the operation of global grants in relation to Structural Funds. It is very much an application led process. To some extent we will be depending on the quality of the applications which come forward for qualification under the initiative.
The Government also attaches priority to the social inclusion element of the initiative. It is important that groups which have been disadvantaged or marginalised or who may be victims in other ways of the violence and instability of the past 25 years should receive support in meeting the challenge of peace. In that context a number of women's organisations have made representations that they should be included in the initiative.
Both Governments have engaged in an extensive consultation process as part of the preparation of the operational programme for the initiative. In this jurisdiction, a major conference was organised last April in Ballyconnell, County Cavan. All interest groups were given an opportunity to put forward their views on the areas which should receive priority attention under the programme and on other aspects of the initiative.
The two Governments have agreed with the Commission on the need for a "bottom-up" approach to the implementation of the initiative. Arrangements will be made to ensure that public consultation continues throughout the period of implementation and that local groups and interests have the maximum input into the decision making and delivery mechanism of the programme. Because of our experience in relation to EU structural funding and INTERREG, I am confident that groups in the Border counties will be in a very good position to present good applications to receive funding under the initiative. The initiative is designed explicitly to support the process of peace and reconciliation. All applications for assistance under it will be judged against the ability of the projects concerned to serve this process.
INTERREG is another special European Union support programme of direct relevance to the border counties. The purpose of this initiative is to help border areas prepare for a European Union without frontiers. The first INTERREG programme, which covered the period 1991-93, involved EU funding of £66 million which was then split evenly between North and South. The new North/South INTERREG II programme, which covers the period 1994-99, will involve the European Union committing £72 million to projects in the southern Border counties and a further £53 million to Northern Ireland.
INTERREG II is designed to help the Border areas throughout the Union to overcome their special developmental problems arising from their relative isolation and to promote the creation and development of networks of co-operation across internal Borders.
The North/South programme is divided into five sub-programmes, covering infrastructure — including roads, energy, transport and telecommunications — environmental protection — including the management of water resources and removal of pollutants — natural resources — agriculture, fisheries and forestry — human resources — training and education — and economic development — tourism, community development and special measures in economic development. These programmes aim to foster cross-Border co-operation and, while stand-alone projects on each side will continue to be eligible for aid, emphasis again will be placed on increasing the number and quality of joint or co-operative projects.
One major innovation vis-a-vis the INTERREG I programme will be the appointment of an INTERREG development officer in the Border region. The development officer will actively promote and publicise the INTERREG II programme. The officer will act as a filter for inquiries regarding eligibility of projects and assist with the creation of links between cross-Border groups. The development officer will operate on both sides of the Border and will have two sub-offices, one in Monaghan town and the other in Armagh city, located in the Border areas.
I look forward to a significant expansion in cross-Border links at all levels under both the peace initiative and the new INTERREG programme. The reestablishment of community and business links in the Border area, where for far too long economic development on both sides proceeded along parallel lines without any real attempt to coordinate policies, will strengthen the economic base in each jurisdiction and promote the common interests of North and South.
The legacy of disadvantage from which the southern Border counties have suffered is also being tackled by the International Fund for Ireland. The effects of the troubles in Northern Ireland on the Border counties, was recognised when the International Fund for Ireland was established in September 1986 as an expression of international support for the Anglo-Irish Agreement. The purpose of the fund is to act as a vehicle of international support for the promotion of economic and social development of those areas of both parts of Ireland which have suffered most severely from the consequences of the instability of recent years. It also encourages dialogue and reconciliation between Nationalists and Unionists throughout Ireland.
The fund is supported by contributions from the United States, the European Union, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Since its inception, the fund has spent over £250 million on projects which have made an enormous contribution to the economic and social regeneration of the Border counties and Northern Ireland. This year the fund is expected to contribute approximately £50 million to projects in the eligible area, of which £13.7 million will be spent in the Border counties of the South.
The United States Administration, which is a major donor to the International Fund for Ireland, has also been in the forefront of support for the peace process. The recent White House Conference for Trade and Investment in Ireland, which was hosted by President Clinton, was a major element in the US Government's response to the changed political situation in Northern Ireland. In addition to this extraordinary presidential gesture, a range of specific initiatives to promote economic co-operation in individual sectors between the US and Irish interests, North and South, are being actively pursued at present by the relevant authorities.
The White House conference was the beginning of a process which is intended to highlight the attractions of investment in Northern Ireland and the Border counties. It provided a unique opportunity for the private sector and the State agencies in Northern Ireland and the southern Border counties to come together in a spirit of co-operation and to highlight the benefits of investing in these areas to several hundred leading American companies.
The relevant US authorities are planning follow-up in the form of sector specific missions which will bring potential US investors to these areas over the coming months. It is hoped that the first of these missions can be arranged for the autumn of this year. The Government will be working with the US authorities over the coming months to ensure that the follow-up trade missions are of maximum value and benefit.
President Clinton invested a great deal of his time, as well as the prestige of his office, in helping to ensure the success of the conference. Last November he noted that "this present opportunity for lasting peace in Ireland is the chance of a generation; it must be seized and supported". The President led the way himself, convening this remarkable conference as a means of demonstrating to the US private sector the enormous opportunities which arise in the new context of peace for profitable investment in Northern Ireland and the Border counties. All the people of this island. North and South, are profoundly in his debt.
The conference was in many ways a watershed in the development of the economic relationship between the United States and Ireland. It was an unqualified success which reflected great credit on all those involved in its preparation. I believe that in the medium and longer term we will see the fruits of the conference appear in the form of increased US investment in this island and in particular in the Border counties.
Speaker after speaker at the conference emphasised the advantages of Ireland, North and South, as a gateway to the European Union, the world's largest market. They also recognised the importance of a well educated, adaptable and English speaking labour force, a good infrastructural base and the strongly pro-business attitudes of both the Irish and British Governments. The Irish Ministers who attended the conference, together with Oireachtas and local representatives from the Border counties, took every opportunity to highlight the merits of the six southern Border counties as a location for US investment. In addition, the State agencies and officials worked hard to direct attention to the case for such investment.
The southern Border counties have suffered over the past 25 years from a double disadvantage. The very existence of the Border has adversely affected their economic and social development. Communities on both sides of the Border, living in towns and rural districts, have been cut off for generations from their natural hinterlands. The existence of a physical Border, with different rates of taxation and social security operating on either side, has caused substantial disruption to the local economy. Traditional economic and geographical entities were divided. Border areas on either side have found themselves on the periphery in terms of economic development.
This intrinsic disadvantage was greatly compounded by the troubles in Northern Ireland over the past 25 years. The campaigns of violence have had a serious disruptive effect in relation to the attraction of inward investment and tourism to the Border counties. The levels of foreign, and particularly US, investment in the Border counties are distinctly lower than elsewhere in the State. I believe that the various support programmes which the European Union and the United States are making available for Northern Ireland and the Border counties will make a significant impact in terms of addressing this legacy of disadvantage. I also believe that, with the consolidation of peace and the exploitation of the enormous potential which now arises for North-South co-operation, the coming years will offer greatly improved opportunities for these counties in the key areas of investment, trade and tourism.
The ending of paramilitary violence has transformed the atmosphere on this island. Business organisations, North and South, recognise the enormous benefits of a business environment which is enduringly stable and peaceful. Campaigns of violence and the resulting unrest and instability destroy business confidence and retard economic and social progress. In that respect the conference was particularly important, because, at the end of the day, when investors come to make decisions about locating in a specific area, such as a Border region, even a small doubt on the part of some of the senior executives can lead to a decision to locate elsewhere rather than in the Border counties.
There has never been a better time for the expansion of North/South business and trade co-operation. A survey published in The Sunday Tribune recently reflected the views of delegates to the annual general meeting of the Small Firms Association. The survey showed that 95 per cent of respondents believed that the possibility of increased North-South trade should be viewed as an opportunity while only 5 per cent believed it to be a threat. Almost two-thirds of those surveyed signalled their intention to increase their own firm's trade with Northern Ireland. This is very encouraging evidence of the determination of Irish business interests to take full advantage of the opportunities created by the peace process.
The Government is committed to a progressive expansion of North/South economic co-operation which will benefit all the people living on this island. Only good can flow from such co-operation and that is why the Government is determined to expand and strengthen it in every way possible.
We welcome the contribution which the European Union and US programmes of support will make, both to the revitalisation of the areas affected by the past 25 years of violence and to the deepening of North-South co-operation on this island.
The House is to be congratulated on the motion being debated this evening, which I strongly endorse. This is my first opportunity to address the House since the sad death of Senator Wilson. His voice would have been heard in the debate because he was born south of the Border and lived most of his life north of it. For many of us, he represented reconciliation in its deepest sense. It is a great pity to be speaking in his absence. I offer my sincere condolences to Members from all parties. In the time he was a Member of Seanad Éireann, he not only made political acquaintances but impressed all of us and made many deep and lasting friends.