Mr. Paddy Malone:

I thank members for this opportunity to address the committee. The representatives from Newry Chamber of Commerce send their apologies. A planning application is going through at present and, as a result, they were not in a position to attend.

I have been involved with cross-Border matters since 1979. The chambers and the local authorities, Newry, Mourne and Down District Council and Louth County Council, have been working together in various ways in recent years. The Border has created a divided area, with no regard for physical or cultural references, and it has had a devastatingly negative impact since 1920. Newry Chamber of Commerce specifically asked me to raise its concerns that the situation will be exacerbated if the referendum in the UK results in the UK leaving the EU. Two currencies, two bodies of law and two structures have inhibited growth and encouraged the black economy. The McArdle report, commissioned by the two local authorities and the two chambers, Newry and Dundalk, showed that Dundalk is the poorest of the southern Border towns and that Newry is the third worst off in the North. The gateway hubs report, which was published by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government in May 2013 - a copy of which I have with me - places Dundalk last on the list of gateway towns.

Government actions, be they taken in Dublin, Stormont or Whitehall, have had little regard for the area in the context of the consideration of fiscal or regional matters. The setting of VAT or excise rates is done independently, with no thought as to the consequences.

It is probably true to say currency movement plays a greater part but none the less where policymakers can have an influence they should. Retail is a major employer in the area and is an economic engine that cannot plan long term in either jurisdiction because it does not know what way the rates will move. In competition between Newry, Warrenpoint and Dundalk, the rates and other retail costs are significantly higher in the South. An example of this lack of planning is that Ireland's Ancient East was launched a month ago, on the same day that Louth Chamber of Commerce held a conference on battlefield tourism. The Fáilte Ireland advertisement stated this starts in Drogheda and ends in Cork, ignoring the land of Cú Chulainn, Fionn MacCool and the Táin trail. It is incredible that it could ignore such a large area.

Dundalk’s unemployment rate is above the national average and has remained so consistently; it is normally approximately 25%. The loss of our four pillars, namely, engineering, shoes, tobacco and brewing, in the 1950s and 1960s has not been made up. The proposed reduction in corporation tax in the North will leave Dundalk at a further disadvantage if foreign direct investment, FDI, businesses want to move into the area. We have shown that we can produce world leaders in Naughton, McCann, Goodman and Haughey, who is probably not well known to the committee but he set up Norbrook in Newry. While all four are from Dundalk, two are established businesses in the North.

There have been various studies on this area which have concluded that the sum of the area is less than the whole. In other words, the area has significant potential for growth in the area but it has not been developed. The Bradley report, Queen's University Belfast, 2012, indicated three aspects to develop a cross-Border area: the deprivation should create a need; the population of the area should be significantly large to sustain a gateway and the infrastructure, physical and administrative, needs to be in place. Only the Dundalk area along the Border meets those three criteria. Its other advantages are that the education facilities are in place and the tourism potential is enormous, and anyone who has ever visited Cooley will understand that. This area can act as a gateway from and counterweight to the growing Dublin-Belfast sprawl.

The chamber has made numerous efforts. I will not go through individual items. When Louth, Newry and Mourne signed their memorandum of understanding it was hailed in Europe as an example of how two local authorities in different jurisdictions should work and the chambers have signed up to it as well. The local authorities have been given enhanced economic responsibilities, North and South, in the past 12 months. It makes sense that closer collaboration in this area be developed. Dundalk is the sixth largest urban centre in the country and should be included in the Living City initiative, for the reasons I have mentioned.

The area needs to be marketed as a whole. Fáilte Ireland and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board neglect the area, the land of Carlingford Lough and all that surrounds it. It could be linked to the Boyne Valley to the south and the Titanic Quarter in the North. Dundalk and the Carlingford region, including Newry and Warrenpoint, is less than 90 km from the major population centres. We have a reach of 2.5 million people on the island within a 60-minute drive. No other part of the island comes remotely close to that figure because we include all of Dublin and all of Belfast.

In conclusion, we recommend an economic zone that would give enhanced capital allowances; that is a timing issue only, not a loss to the State. Dundalk should be included in the Living City initiative. The Gullion-Cooley area should be marketed properly. There should be recognition in each other's jurisdiction of the business expansion scheme, BES, and other incentives. At the moment Southerners cannot invest in Northern companies or Northerners in Southern companies. The specific industries I have outlined should be targeted, including hospitality and geo-finance and, in particular, pharmaceuticals. The Industrial Development Authority, IDA, has a major site, at Mullagharlin, which has been lying vacant for over ten years. These are specific measures we want within a certain time. We do not want it open-ended. We want it for long enough that planners and businesses can get to it. We want further co-operation with United Kingdom, UK, employment initiatives, and encouragement of cross-Border movement of capital and employment. There are still problems in that area, although they mainly arise on the Northern side. Policies should be designed to avoid displacement. We are not looking for a pharmaceutical plant to move from Cork. We want new business coming in, not a displacement from elsewhere on the island of Ireland. The Louth-Newry-Mourne memorandum of understanding should be extended in so far as that can be done. Facilities and supports such as hospitals should be shared.

Daisy Hill Hospital in Newry is crying out for an enhanced upgrade, while Louth County Hospital in Dundalk is being downgraded. Improved access to the greater Down area where there are major problems with road infrastructure is also recommended. I will not specify particular roads because my colleagues in Newry and Warrenpoint might disagree with me. When they speak later, they can explain the position. This unique area has the capacity to grow significantly, but it needs a kickstart. Once it is kickstarted, it has the potential to stand on its own two feet.