the journal of cross border studies in ireland - The Centre for Cross ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

these difficulties could be resolved.Not only that, but a related problem isthe perception by both governmentsthat cross-border cooperation shouldbe principally around economic issues,rather than the social concerns thatwould come to the fore in ‘people-topeople’cooperation. At the core of thisis the fact that social policy is not at theheart of the North-South relationship.Neither social policy in general norcommunity development in particularwere specified areas of cooperationunder the Good Friday Agreement.Examination of the work of the NorthSouth Ministerial Council finds fewactivities in these areas, the closestbeing in the health and environmentalareas.When the two governmentscommissioned their most recent scopingstudy of North-South cooperation, theirfocus was on economic cooperation,science, technology, innovation, trade,tourism, investment and enterprise 8 .Although there was a chapter on the€68 billion on infrastructure which thetwo governments planned to spendby 2017, this did not include a singleJOURNAL OF CROSS BORDER STUDIES IN IRELAND No.5 43
cent for community infrastructure,nor was there any reference to socialpolicy, community development, norgovernance structures. The only socialpolicy area where progress has beenmade was free travel schemes forpensioners. For all the expectationthat community development groupswould do the legwork of peace andreconciliation, there was remarkably littlerecognition of their activities in the biggerNorth-South debate, nor in investmentdecisions. The Republic’s governmentseemed to have a limited understandingof the need for investment in ‘soft’ socialinfrastructure: ‘it could find the moneyfor subsidising Derry airport, but notfor community development’, said onecritic. Although there was a strong focuson trade integration, business linksand commercial partnerships, ‘we stilldon’t even have a common directory ofvoluntary and community organisationsand social enterprises’, said another.ConclusionFor much of the century to themid-1990s, the experience of theIrish border was one of conflict andever-deepening social deprivationand isolation. The intervention of EUPresident Jacques Delors in bringing thePEACE programme to Ireland showeda profound grasp of history, politicsand social policy in general, and thedynamic of conflicted cross-borderregions in particular. His underlyingassumption was that a problematic,conflicted border region would notprosper purely in the absence ofviolence: indeed throughout the 20thcentury the economic and social declineof the Irish border region continuedseamlessly, uninterrupted by the earlierceasefires of 1923 and 1963. Pro-activemeasures and investment are necessaryto re-build conflicted border regions,and here the PEACE programme wasthe crucial catalyst for the regenerationof the border region generally, and forcommunity development and crossbordercooperation by voluntary andcommunity organisations in particular.It raised the expectations of peoplelike social entrepreneurs who wouldlike to turn the border region into adesirable place in which to live, a modelof reconciliation and cross-borderintegration, one of balanced economic,social and sustainable development.The Dundalk IT study has enabled usto get a clearer picture of the nature,extent and characteristics of communitydevelopment along the Irish border. Itprovided a portrait of how voluntary andcommunity organisations cooperateacross the border; the organisationalforms and trajectories they follow; asense of the issues arising; a map ofthe way forward, and the formidableinstitutional, political and mindsetproblems that have yet to be overcome.Postscript: not a happy ending yetSadly, this story does not yet seemto have a happy ending. The idea ofa North-South Consultative Forumfailed to progress even when theother institutions of the Good FridayAgreement were restored. Althoughin October 2009 an exasperatedDepartment of the Taoiseach conveneda meeting in Dublin of interested partiesto progress the idea, it became clearthat it could go no further without the44JOURNAL OF CROSS BORDER STUDIES IN IRELAND No.5
Page 6: A word from the ChairmanChris Gibso
Page 9 and 10: Universities Ireland, SCoTENS and t
Page 12: Making the here and now a better pl
Page 17 and 18: helps to overcome the distortions o
Page 19: enal services in the Cooley area. T
Page 23 and 24: and that the proximity to France an
Page 25 and 26: war came to an end, and free Spain
Page 27 and 28: McVitty, unarmed, was farming his l
Page 29 and 30: speak with admiration of a politici
Page 31 and 32: it is all our business.” Ruttledg
Page 33 and 34: Loneliness and dignityOne of the re
Page 35: social development of the cross-bor
Page 38 and 39: try to capture the dynamics of such
Page 40 and 41: different, to the extent that (as o
Page 42 and 43: The Sliabh Beagh hills on the Monag
Page 46 and 47: cooperation of the Office of the Fi
Page 48 and 49: A sense of proportion in crossborde
Page 50 and 51: A Dublin woman loads her car outsid
Page 52: transport costs and time involved.
Page 57 and 58: 26 November 2009. These headlinesca
Page 59 and 60: is a loyalist stronghold. We havepe
Page 61 and 62: not all the children in a linked gr
Page 63 and 64: step from virtual contact at a dist
Page 65 and 66: this part of Dissolving Boundaries,
Page 67 and 68: other elements of the programme. In
Page 70 and 71: charged with policy implementation.
Page 73 and 74: e-emergence of ‘political economy
Page 75 and 76: counter-cyclical investment to boos
Page 77 and 78: union and environmental leadership
Page 81 and 82: the national grid and building anew
Page 83 and 84: has only been witnessed in a widera
Page 85 and 86: integrating economic and social asw
Page 87 and 88: 25. ibid.26. Hopkins, R., The Trans
Page 89 and 90: Students at the Magee (Derry/London
Page 91 and 92: the context of the present economic
Page 94 and 95:
Media students on graduation day at
Page 96 and 97:
Letterkenny Institute of Technology
Page 98 and 99:
its provision of higher educationco
Page 100 and 101:
Nationalism in the service of abett
Page 102 and 103:
The date is also important as it ma
Page 104 and 105:
that nationalism’s strongest crit
Page 106 and 107:
James Connolly Hannah Sheehy- Sean
Page 109:
that the British government’s 200
Page 112 and 113:
social and economic justice, andpol
Page 114 and 115:
President McAleese with board membe
Page 116 and 117:
www.crossborder.ieYear Unique Visit
Page 118 and 119:
It was developed in response to aco
Page 120 and 121:
cross-border cooperation at its mos
Page 122 and 123:
North South Ministerial Council Joi
Page 124 and 125:
Speakers at the January 2010 ICLRD/
Page 126 and 127:
might be enabled to expandby exploi
Page 128 and 129:
Winners of the 2009-2010 Universiti
Page 130 and 131:
Participants at the third Irish-Afr
Page 132 and 133:
held in Entebbein Uganda on10-13 No
Page 134 and 135:
education, gender and ICT researcht
Page 136 and 137:
STANDING CONFERENCE ONTEACHER EDUCA
Page 138 and 139:
were seed funded: a conference onpo
Page 140 and 141:
Recovery: PlanningIreland, Northand
Page 142 and 143:
Speakers and researchers at the lau
Page 144 and 145:
• Applied research on theimplicat
Page 146 and 147:
The final meeting of the North/Sout
Page 148 and 149:
Chief Executive of NI-CO, the Deput
Page 150 and 151:
College Dublin,which analysed thein
Page 152 and 153:
support are provided to minority et
Page 154 and 155:
The President of the University of
Page 156 and 157:
months to discuss a research and/or
Page 158 and 159:
Astronomer Jay Tate and Professor M
Page 160 and 161:
Left to right, Bruce Robinson, Head
Page 162 and 163:
I want to thank the Centre for Cros
Page 164 and 165:
BOARD MEMBERS AND STAFFDr Chris Gib
Page 166 and 167:
EXTRACTS FROM 2008-2009 FINANCIAL S
Page 168 and 169:
CONTACT DETAILSMAIN OFFICEThe Centr
show all

the journal of cross border studies in ireland - The Centre for Cross ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?