Dr. Alan Barrett:

I thank the Chair and members of the committee for the invitation to address them today. I am the director of the ESRI and I am joined by my colleagues, Dr. Adele Bergin, Dr. Sheelah Connolly, Dr. Martina Lawless and Dr. Seamus McGuinness. Each of them will speak in a few moments on various stands of ESRI research which are relevant to the committee's deliberations.

I will provide a brief overview of ESRI research on North-South issues. As some members of the committee might know, the ESRI was founded by Dr. T.K. Whitaker in 1960. Given Dr. Whitaker's interest in all-island issues and the key role he played in developing North-South relationships in the 1960s, it is perhaps unsurprising that the institute's research agenda has generally included work on all-island issues. This was especially true when Sir George Quigley was president of the ESRI around the turn of the century. Like Whitaker, Sir George was a person who advanced an all-island view. To quote from his entry in the Dictionary of Irish Biography:

In a 1992 speech he popularised the notion of Ireland becoming a one-island economy, principally by developing a Belfast–Dublin growth corridor capable of generating an industrial cluster effect. Over time he convinced most unionists to set aside their suspicions and accept such co-operation as an end in itself.

It is important to say at the outset of our presentation that the ESRI does not take institutional views on policy issues and that includes the possible constitutional arrangements on the island of Ireland, which the committee is discussing. All ESRI research is aimed at providing evidence as an input into policymaking processes, rather than advocating from a particular perspective. The goal is to provide the evidence so that policies can be formulated which maximise economic and social outcomes for citizens and others. Our work on all-island issues has the same motivation. This perspective has underpinned our work, including research that has been funded by agencies such as the shared island unit in the Department of the Taoiseach, InterTradeIreland, IBEC and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform through the grant-in-aid provided annually to the ESRI.

While our work on North-South issues has the same motivation as our work that focuses solely on issues south of the Border, the all-island work has its own characteristics. I will mention two distinguishing themes on this matter. First, Ireland and Northern Ireland are both small countries with small populations. In order to maximise the opportunities that typically accrue to larger populations, it is important that we minimise any barriers to collaboration and co-operation that might arise due to the existence of two jurisdictions on the island. Hence, the first goal of our research is often to explore potential areas for increased collaboration. The second objective of the research is to see what could be learned from the unique situation on the island. We have two populations which are similar in many ways, but we have two systems, for example, of taxation and public service delivery. Researchers across Europe try to distil lessons on what works best by comparing systems and outcomes in different European countries, as do researchers across different states of the US. We try to invoke that comparative research method to see if there are lessons from both sides of the Border which could benefit people North and South.

While the institute does not take a view on possible constitutional arrangements, we recognise that an important discussion is occurring and we think our work can assist in addressing some of the questions that arise in that discussion. With that, I will hand over to my colleague, Dr. McGuinness.