Journal of Cross Border Studies in Ireland
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THE JOURNAL OF CROSS BORDER STUDIES IN IRELAND No. 6 Spring 2011 Cover illustration: ‘The Road to the West’ by John Luke. Picture used courtesy of Ulster Museum and the John Luke Estate. The Centre for Cross Border Studies is part-financed by the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund through the EU INTERREG IVA Programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body JOURNAL OF CROSS BORDER STUDIES IN IRELAND No.6 1 The staff of the Centre for Cross Border Studies. From left to right: Andy Pollak, Ruth Taillon, Joseph Shiels, Annmarie O'Kane, Eimear Donnelly, Sebastian Rihm (intern), Mairead Hughes, Patricia McAllister, John Driscoll (Director of ICLRD). CONTENTS A word from the chairman 05 Chris Gibson ‘We need to be big and generous towards each other’: 13 interview on North-South cooperation with the NI Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness MP MLA By-passed places? The post-Belfast Agreement Border 25 Region Economy John Bradley and Michael Best Keeping up with the neighbours: Human Rights protection, 45 North and South, since the Belfast Agreement Michael Farrell The Dublin-Belfast rail line: the need for a better service to 59 lower North-South economic barriers Edgar Morgenroth Food Security and Health on the island of Ireland: 71 are we sleepwalking into a crisis? Jane Wilde JOURNAL OF CROSS BORDER STUDIES IN IRELAND No.6 3 SǾnderjylland-Schleswig: from conflict to cooperation in the 87 Danish-German Border Region Martin Klatt Cooperation Ireland: remaining relevant in a difficult 99 recessionary age Mary Minihan Index of Journal articles, 2006-2011 112 INFORMATION ABOUT THE CENTRE FOR CROSS BORDER STUDIES 115 INICCO projects 123 Universities Ireland 131 SCoTENS 142 International Centre for Local and Regional Development (ICLRD) 146 Past research projects 157 Conferences 164 What they say 169 Extracts from the Centre’s 2009-2010 Financial Statements 177 Contact details 179 The views expressed in this journal are the authors' own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Special EU Programmes Body or the European Commission. 4 JOURNAL OF CROSS BORDER STUDIES IN IRELAND No.6 A WORD FROM THE CHAIRMAN Chris Gibson OBE This will be my sixth and last foreword to an edition of the Journal of Cross Border Studies in Ireland, since I intend to stand down as chairman in the next few months. It has been my pleasure to be chairman of the Centre for Cross Border Studies for the past 11 and a half years and see the Centre grow from very small beginnings into an organisation with an unrivalled Chris Gibson reputation for the kind of practical cross-border cooperation research and development work that leads to better understanding between the peoples of the two parts of Ireland. Under Andy Pollak’s leadership it has led the way in research, information, training, networking and management support projects in the North-South and cross-border cooperation field, with a well-recognised ability to bring to fruition high-class research projects, run major conferences and organise cross-border exchanges, thus promoting what we have in common on this small island on the edge of Europe. There are many single issue offices in Armagh, greatly enhanced by organisations also contributing to the wide range of academic and other greater mutual understanding on this contributors who are associated with island. But I believe the Centre for our work. Long may it continue under Cross Border Studies has made and will the new chair, Helen Johnston of the continue to make a unique contribution National Economic and Social Council to the difficult task of blending as many in Dublin, who is originally from of them as possible into the complex County Antrim. social, economic and cultural mix which reflects the realities of life in Ireland 2010-2011 was another extremely busy today. A clear feature of this work is year for the Centre. In summary, we the Centre’s philosophy of building carried out and supported research, partnerships to enable future progress information, training, networking, across the Irish border in a wide range management and scholarship projects of areas. We now have an impressive in the following areas: the border region range of skills in the staff in the Centre’s economy, cross-border spatial planning, JOURNAL OF CROSS BORDER STUDIES IN IRELAND No.6 5 cross-border hospital services, cross- the second project, the Cross-border border mobility information, cross-border Spatial Planning and Training Network impact assessment, cross-border (CroSPlaN), which has brought together postgraduate and teacher education, local councillors, officials, business cross-border rail services, cross-border and community leaders in the border training in Europe and Irish universities’ region to learn about planning in the two cooperation with Africa. jurisdictions and how they might use their planning powers (or future planning All five research, training and information powers) to work more closely together. projects funded by EU INTERREG Executive training courses were IVA (managed by the Special EU completed in the Newry-Dundalk and Programmes Body) under the omnibus Derry-Letterkenny regions. The first of title INICCO (Ireland/Northern Ireland these, following on from a 2009 ICLRD Cross-border Cooperation Observatory) report on this ‘twin city’ region, has led were up and going during this period. to an unprecedented Memorandum The first of these is a study of the of Understanding between Newry and economy of the Irish border region by Mourne District Council and Louth a high-powered team led by Professor Local Authorities to work together on Michael Best of the University of selected environmental, energy, tourism Massachusetts – an international and regeneration projects, which will be authority on business strategies in many signed in Brussels at the beginning of regions of the world – and Dr John March 2011. Bradley, formerly a research professor at the Economic and Social Research The third EU-funded project is a two- Institute in Dublin. There is an article by part study of the potential of cross- Professor Best and Dr Bradley detailing border hospital services. Deputy director their emerging findings in this journal. Ruth Taillon completed a study of the role of community participation in The Centre’s ‘sister’ organisation, hospital planning in the border region. the International Centre for Local and The consultancy firm Horwath Bastow Regional Development (ICLRD), heads Charleton has continued to work on a 6 JOURNAL OF CROSS BORDER STUDIES IN IRELAND No.6 prototype modelling tool for hospital cross-border cooperation and impact planning in selected specialties on a assessment. cross-border and all-island basis. Dr Beck sent the Centre its first intern. The Border People cross-border 24-year-old Sebastian Rihm, who is mobility information website went from taking a Masters in European Public strength to strength. A user survey Administration degree at the Universities conducted with Indecon Economic of Ludwigsburg and Kehl in Germany. Consultants in the summer of 2010 Sebastian worked in Armagh for six found that 92% of respondents ‘agreed’ months on the Pilot Impact Assessment or ‘strongly agreed’ that Border People Toolkit and during that time made a very is an ‘important and valuable resource’ valuable contribution to the evolving for people living in the border region. work of that project. We wish him well in At a seminar in Dublin in November, his future career. international lawyer and EU labour mobility expert John Handoll called During the year the Centre also the website an ‘essential tool’ and ‘a organised two successful meetings of first port of call for those seeking to its North/South Research Forum, which understand their rights.’ brings together researchers, policy- makers and funders interested in North- The fifth EU-funded project is the South and cross-border cooperation. development of a Pilot Impact The first of these, in Dundalk, was Assessment Toolkit for cross-border on ‘Cross-Border Innovation and cooperation in Ireland. This highly Creativity’ with speakers on health innovative project – in European as well technologies, economic development as Irish terms – began in early summer and energy efficiency. The second, in 2010 in collaboration with Dr Joachim Belfast, was on ‘The Future of Public Beck, Director of the Euro-Institute at Sector Cross-Border Cooperation in a Kehl, near Strasbourg, and an advisor Difficult Financial Climate’ with two of to the European Commission on the island’s leading economists, Pat McArdle and Victor Hewitt. JOURNAL OF CROSS BORDER STUDIES IN IRELAND No.6 7 Busy all-island networks by Universities Ireland and two firms, ESB and Dublin Port. Four academics The three all-island higher education facing threats to their liberty and life in networks managed by the Centre Iran, Iraq and Burma were hosted at were equally busy in 2010-2011. Irish universities for a year under the Universities Ireland continued its work international Scholars at Risk network through three principal projects: the (for which Universities Ireland is the Irish-African Partnership for Research Irish Section). Capacity Building (IAP); the North/South Postgraduate Scholarship scheme; and The Standing Conference on Teacher the Irish Section of the Scholars at Education North and South (SCoTENS) Risk programme. continues to be probably the Centre’s most vibrant and transformative all- The final two Irish-African Partnership island network, with 61 cross-border events were held in Zomba (Malawi) research projects funded in the past and Belfast. The first of these, in March eight years (15 more applications were 2010, was in the form of a ‘summer received in January 2011) and 14 school’ at which senior Irish and African published reports. An eighth annual researchers and research staff worked international conference in Belfast together on research management, in October 2010 on the subject research funding, ICT and human ‘Teacher Education for Inclusion’ resource issues – evaluation feedback was addressed by one of Britain’s from participants showed that it was outstanding educationalists, Sir the most successful IAP event to date.