Newry Chamber President, Conor Patterson and Chamber CEO, Michael Savage travelled to Dublin on Tuesday 21st April to appear before the Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement to discuss cross-border trade and to highlight the challenges faced by businesses across the Greater Newry Area, alongside other Chambers from the Border region.
Chamber President, Conor Patterson gave a five minute opening verbal submission to the Committee calling for stronger and deeper engagement from the Irish Government (as a Co-Guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement) on the development future of the North, given the fiscal challenges facing the NI Executive in delivering key infrastructure projects, in the absence of EU Structural Funds post-Brexit. Both he and Chamber CEO, Michael Savage took questions from TDs, Senators and Westminster MPs.
Conor stressed that deeper engagement from the Irish Government in the future development of the North would help to strengthen the All-Island Economy, unlock Greater Newry/Greater Dundalk’s potential to become an economic powerhouse on the Dublin-Belfast Economic Corridor and create development headroom to build new homes to ease growing housing pressures on the eastern seaboard of Ireland.
Michael Savage, CEO of Newry Chamber outlined the engagement Newry Chamber in partnership with Dundalk Chamber has been involved in with NI Water and Uisce Éireann in developing a Cross-Border Wastewater Project Funding Mechanism which has the potential to unlock huge development opportunities for the Greater Newry/Greater Dundalk Cross-border Region and protect our Shared Waterways that flow from the Newry River Estuary to Carlingford Lough and Dundalk Bay.
He also urged the Irish Government to support a Newry Chamber led initiative promoting an All-island Work Permit for EU workers living in the Republic permitting them to work in the North. This permit, if developed, could potentially help to alleviate some of the current recruitment challenges across key sectors such as hospitality, manufacturing, agri-food, construction and the care sector.
Speaking after the meeting, Newry Chamber President, Conor Patterson said:
“I would like to thank the Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement for hosting us and other Chambers from both sides of the border and for listening to what we all had to say.”
“It is important that we continue to engage with all politicians, Ministers and statutory bodies across the island of Ireland and across these islands to encourage stronger and deeper collaboration around funding that yields mutual benefits for the development of a robust and successful All-Island Economy.”
“Newry Chamber will continue to lobby hard to ensure that our key infrastructure and skills needs for future development are met through innovative cross-border and cross-governmental funding mechanisms and initiatives.”
The Chamber also held discussions with the Shared Island Unit in Dublin around the potential role of the Shared Island Fund in the future development of Greater Newry and the wider North.
You can view the full video of the Oireachtas meeting HERE.