Council Report No.157_Shared Island: Shared Opportunity NESC Comprehensive Report

• 12 April 2022
• Topics: Social
• Types: Press Releases

NESC report identifies opportunities for Shared Island co-operation

Research examines key economic, environmental and social policy practices on the island

A new report from the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) highlights the very significant support, in practice, for an all-island approach to key economic, social, environmental, and well-being challenges facing the island of Ireland.

Among the recommendations in Shared Island: Shared Opportunity are an increase in all-island infrastructure investment, increased coordination on climate and biodiversity actions, closer and more strategic cooperation between further and higher education and training institutions, and enhanced cross-border cooperation in local and sustainable tourism.

The report reflects NESC’s engagement with policy makers, academics, practitioners and experts from a wide range of organisations and institutions across the island throughout 2021.

Key recommendations include:

• the Administrations North and South take greater cognisance of the connected nature of the climate crisis and biodiversity emergency for the island of Ireland, and reflect this in a programme of coordination and joint action;
• further investment in the built infrastructure of the all-island energy network is needed to ensure the Eirgrid and SONI commitment to reach at least 70 per cent renewable electricity by 2030 can be achieved;
• the two Administrations and the tourism agencies co-operate to grow local, sustainable tourism on a cross-border basis;
• the Government, working with the NI Executive and the UK Government, should encourage and support more strategic cooperation between further and higher education and training institutions;
• the role of special initiatives in tackling concentrations of poverty on the island should be examined; and
• while it would require agreement by the Government and the Northern Ireland Executive, a more structured basis for consultation, cooperation and action by the two Administrations on enterprise policy and other economic development issues should be considered.

Launching the report, Taoiseach Micheál Martin T.D. said, “The publication of the NESC report today is both timely and significant, as the Government continues to drive forward our Shared Island initiative.   The Council has consulted widely and set out recommendations on how, as a Government and through all-island partnerships, we can develop and deliver a new, positive agenda, underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement.

“The recommendations outline how we can do more to put reconciliation into practice, by working together on the things that matter most for people across our shared island – like addressing climate change and biodiversity loss; supporting good jobs; and tackling poverty.

“The report is essentially a prospectus of clear benefits to be gained – for both jurisdictions on this island. The Government will consider NESC’s recommendations fully and consult and seek to take forward agreed recommendations with our partners in the Northern Ireland Executive and the UK Government, engaging also with Local Authorities and civil society.”

Emphasising the comprehensive nature of the work, NESC Director, Larry O’Connell said, “Taking a ‘listening and learning’ approach, we have sought to engage with all the main communities and traditions on the island on how to build consensus around a shared future, with a focus on actionable areas of cooperation. The work is underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement in all dimensions, and recognises the benefit and potential of both North/South and East/West cooperation opportunities. The research focuses on sustainable economic, social and environmental development opportunities, in line with NESC’s remit to advise the Taoiseach and the Government on strategic policy issues.”

One of the main authors of the report, Helen Johnston stated, “There is clear potential across a wide range of areas – on the economy and infrastructure, social policy, climate and biodiversity, well-being measurement, and statistical data – to build on existing levels of co-operation on the island for the benefit of all”.

The report is being launched by Taoiseach, Micheál Martin, T.D. at an event in the Hibernia Conference Centre, Dublin Castle on 12 April 2022, moderated by journalist Tommie Gorman. The event programme is available here.

Note to Editors

NESC’s Shared Island: Shared Opportunity report makes recommendations across a range of areas including:

Economic policy and infrastructure:

• further investment in the built infrastructure of the all-island energy network is needed to ensure the Eirgrid and SONI commitment to reach at least 70 per cent renewable electricity by 2030 can be achieved;
• the work of the newly established National Clustering Policy Steering Group in Ireland should incorporate consideration of all-island opportunities;
• the two Administrations and the tourism agencies co-operate to grow local, sustainable tourism on a cross-border basis;
• further consideration should be given to the impacts of the trans-border workers’ tax relief for remote working, with engagement between the Department of Finance and other stakeholders, possibly within the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF); and
• while it would require agreement by the Government and the Northern Ireland Executive, a more structured basis for consultation, cooperation and action by the two Administrations on enterprise policy and other economic development issues should be considered.

 Social policy: 

• the scope for periodic joint Ministerial or joint Departmental engagement with stakeholders in relevant sectors to hear their views and expectations of what North South cooperation needs to deliver should be explored, to inform the development and updating of work programmes;
• the PEACE PLUS programme is an important opportunity to affirm the benefits of cross-border cooperation and interaction on a range of common social policy concerns, providing a basis for mainstreaming and further development over time through North South cooperation;
• the role of special initiatives in tackling concentrations of poverty on the island should be examined; and
• the Government, working with the NI Executive and the UK Government, should encourage and support more strategic cooperation between further and higher education and training institutions.

Climate and Biodiversity:

• both Administrations take greater cognisance of the connected nature of the climate crisis and biodiversity emergency for the island of Ireland, and reflect this in a programme of coordination and joint action to realise the tangible benefits of cooperation for this most urgent and common challenge for the shared island; and
• a number of strategic working groups should be established to explore opportunities for future collaboration on key all-island climate and biodiversity concerns, including on:
  • sustainable agriculture – to examine issues such as the further development of initiatives such as Farming for Nature;
  • the circular economy and bio-economy – to examine the potential an all-island approach has to support the shift to a circular economy in Ireland and Northern Ireland;
  • renewable energy – to explore opportunities associated with solar, anaerobic digestion, off-shore wind, wave and tidal energy;
  • networks for nature – to explore the potential to build on the progress of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan; and
  • marine and coastal impacts of climate change – to focus on how to strengthen cooperation, and expand knowledge sharing.

Wellbeing measures: 

• there is potential to use the well-being frameworks as a tool to facilitate engagement with a wide range of stakeholders across the island, to inform priorities in relation to key challenges, and to learn from each other.

Data & Information:

• both Administrations could place a greater focus on inter-operable statistical data and cooperation between the CSO and NISRA, for sectors which are important in terms of all-island cooperation or comparison, including on environment, health and trade.

Read the full report and Executive Summary here.

For further information please contact Helen Johnston helen.johnston@nesc.ie, 087 4191780

NESC Work on Shared Island

This report is the culmination of research on the Shared Island that NESC undertook over 2021. This involved in excess of 100 meetings with practitioners, policy makers, academics and experts from a diverse range of institutions across the whole island. It involved detailed work in the North-West, including four focus groups. A public consultation on Climate and Biodiversity took place. The work also drew upon a number of related webinars and the Shared Island Social Dialogues undertaken by the Department of the Taoiseach. In the course of the research project two Council Reports, six NESC Secretariat Papers and one Background Paper have been published, see NESC’s website at www.nesc.ie.