North/South: Environmental co-operation
Monday, October 10th, 2011Ministers from North and South spoke of enhanced co-operation at this year’s Environment Ireland conference. Stephen Dineen summarises the main themes. There was a strong theme of North/South co-operation to Environment Minister Alex Attwood’s address at this year’s Environment Ireland conference. The conference, in its seventh year, saw the environment ministers from the two jurisdictions attend for the first time. One of the themes taken up by the new Environment Minister in his speech was the potential for Northern Ireland to tap into funding for environmental research, and he...[full story]
North/South: Economists in government
Monday, October 10th, 2011Economists are increasingly being called upon to help ministers make policy decisions a senior Northern Ireland civil servant has told a Dublin audience. Meadhbh Monahan reports. Ministers realise that their projects won’t go ahead without approval from the Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP) and are therefore turning to economists for economic research, briefings and policy development, rather than just cost-benefit and appraisal analysis. One hundred economists make up the Northern Ireland Government Economic Service. They are employed as DFP civil servants and are seconded...[full story]
North/South: Environmental regulation and trade barriers
Monday, October 10th, 2011A new InterTradeIreland report shows that regulations from EU directives have little impact on companies who trade across the border. InterTradeIreland’s report has found that companies are not impacted significantly by environmental regulations. The report, which examined the impact of regulatory burdens arising from several EU environmental directives, said that only the trans-frontier shipment of waste (TFS) regulations were proving significantly burdensome. It recommends: • reporting requirements arising from environmental regulations should be examined; • electronic and web-based...[full story]
Politics: Sinn Féin ard fheis – Towards a new Republic
Monday, October 10th, 2011Meadhbh Monahan reports on the Sinn Féin ard fheis, where a sense of ‘getting on with it’ pervaded the proceedings. Republicanism is not about “a line on a map”, it is about people, fairness and equality, Martin McGuinness told delegates at the annual Sinn Féin ard fheis in Belfast’s Waterfront Hall. ‘Towards a new Republic’ was the slogan of this year’s event; the first to be held in Northern Ireland, where an address by a Presbyterian minister was the biggest talking point. Despite the fact that Sinn Féin is an all- Ireland party, there remained a slight sense of...[full story]
Economy: An all-island economy update
Wednesday, September 7th, 2011agendaNi examines the current state of the all-island economy. The all-island economy was described by former Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern in 2008 as “a sensible and practical co-operation to improve shared social and economic conditions, and to create an innovative and prosperous Ireland.” The Republic remains Northern Ireland’s second most important trading partner after Great Britain. Great Britain and Northern Ireland is Ireland’s main trading partner. However, competition between Northern Ireland and the Republic for foreign direct investment is expected...[full story]
North/South: Irish presidency
Monday, September 5th, 2011As Mary McAleese prepares to leave office, Peter Cheney previews October’s election and its relevance to Northern Ireland. Ireland’s first presidential election in 14 years is essentially a decision on the character and values of the best person to represent the nation, as the post carries minimal political influence. The last presidential election was held in 1997. Mary McAleese was returned unopposed in 2004 and is now nearing the end of her maximum term. Polling day is scheduled for 27 October, alongside two constitutional referenda. The President of Ireland (Uachtarán na hÉireann)...[full story]
Politics: Assessing the new Assembly
Friday, September 2nd, 2011An agendaNi seminar considers the prospects for Stormont over 2011-2015, from the perspective of MLAs and analysts. “Positivity, strategic thinking and collective thinking” are needed in this term, according to SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone. He had no time for “silly debates” over accepting £400 million from the Irish Government for roads. People on the ground need hope, he emphasised, citing a school leaver whose family could not afford to send him to unvirsity. A shared future needs to be taken seriously, Alliance’s Chris Lyttle contended: “This is not an aspirational issue....[full story]
