John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Professors FitzGerald and Morgenroth for their contributions. It is great to see Professor FitzGerald again. I heard his presentation to the Joint Committee on Climate Action a few weeks ago. It is always enjoyable to hear him speak.

I was reading over the weekend and it is amazing how the history of the economy on this island changes. At the turn of the 20th century, Belfast was the economic powerhouse on the island of Ireland. Dublin was a backwater economy in comparison. Professor FitzGerald mentioned how Northern Ireland picked up again in the 1960s and then, perhaps, another real difference is that it did not avail of the European Union funding as quickly as we did. It is fascinating to see, when one looks over the history of the last 100 years, how the economy fluctuated between the two parts of this island.

I will ask a couple of questions about the low educational attainment. For me, education is very much the silver bullet to fix most of society's ills. It is a way for people from tough backgrounds to do well. It really is a great way to go about it. When I was thinking about this, it struck me that four of my cousins, funnily enough, are from just across the Border from me in south Armagh. All four went to university in the UK and ended up working there for a long time. None of those four are actually in Northern Ireland now. That really struck me. One looks at that and asks what we must do to try to get those people back into Northern Ireland. Is it a case where the Northern Ireland Executive or societal sectors in Northern Ireland, must ask people to come back to help rebuild Northern Ireland, a bit like we did here in the Celtic Tiger years? We saw it was really taking off and everyone who had emigrated in the 1980s wanted to come back and play a part. We need a clear message around why it is important for graduates to come back to Northern Ireland and play a part.

I wish to discuss two final points. In their conclusions, Professors FitzGerald and Morgenroth asked how Northern Ireland can effectively address its productivity gaps. That is my question on the issue. They said in their opening statement that Northern Ireland's expenditure per head is 120%, which is actually much higher than the rest of the UK. They estimate that subvention would still be needed in the context of a united Ireland. At the same time, they said that if the transfer had to come from central government in Dublin, it would to be a substantial long-term burden on the standard of living of those in the Republic of Ireland.

For want of a better question, what can Northern Ireland do to get itself into that kind of position where it can address its productivity gap? I do not mean to say this in a simplistic manner. My simplistic view from looking at the witnesses' statement, however, it is that on one hand, it relies massively on funding coming from London and on the other hand, if that were to continue, it would rely on funding from the Republic of Ireland. Essentially, what can Northern Ireland do to address that productivity gap?

I will return briefly to the issue of what we are doing in my part of the world with the M1 corridor, which is something the Chairman will also know much about. The concept of the M1 corridor is to promote the entire region from Dublin right up to Belfast. It is an investment-ready region with 35% of Ireland's workforce and one third of the population. It is a really good area to attract jobs and investment. Perhaps, however, it does not have the same level of promotion it should be getting from both the Government here and in Northern Ireland. Do the witnesses believe a real way forward to advance the economic integration of this island is by promoting such types of regions right across the world to bring businesses here?