Mary White (Fianna Fail)

I support the Bill. We all recognise what the EU-supported programmes have done for the Border counties on both sides. We did not talk about the single greatest impediment to economic and social development, North and South, which was the partition of the country in 1922. Both countries developed their infrastructure back-to-back as far as the Border and ne'er the twain shall meet. Ten or 12 years ago the North's road infrastructure was far better than ours. However, it fell substantially behind ours and only now is it catching up, with the Belfast to Dundalk road matching up with our Dublin to Dundalk road.

In November 2005 the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Peter Hain, stated the economy in the North would not be sustainable in the long term. He added: "In future decades it is going to be increasingly difficult to look at the economy of North and South except as a sort of island of Ireland economy." Last month the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, and Peter Hain published a groundbreaking and comprehensive study of the development of an all-Ireland economy. Civil servants from both sides worked together to produce it. The Minister and the Secretary of State issued a fantastic joint statement which indicated that the study made clear the strong economic imperative driving North-South co-operation. In the context of the study, the Minister stated:

To be globally competitive we must exploit the opportunities of all-island co-operation. To make the knowledge economy a reality in Ireland, North and South, the opportunities of cross-border co-operation in R&D should be eagerly grasped.

I recently stated on the Order of Business that there was one issue the various political parties in the North had in common. Sammy Wilson stated in the Northern Ireland Assembly last week that he would like that jurisdiction to have the Republic's low tax base. Those in the North are looking to us because we are rich. Business leaders, led by George Quigley, and political parties in the North have been putting pressure on the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, to bring the corporation tax rate in that jurisdiction, 30%, into line with that which obtains here, 12.5%.

The Taoiseach was a guest speaker at the CBI lunch in London on Monday last. He stated:

There is no reason why the Celtic Tiger cannot be an all-island phenomenon.

The people of Northern Ireland certainly have the capacity and the drive to succeed.

Last month, the British and Irish Governments published a ground-breaking report on the all-island economy.

We want to invest together in the productive capacity and competitiveness of the island — in infrastructure, in education, in skills and in science. We also want to see how we can improve services to our citizens by working better together.

This all-island dimension will be an important part of our new National Development Plan.

I look forward to seeing these plans agreed and implemented — on the basis of mutual respect and for mutual benefit — with a new First Minister, Deputy First Minister ...

The fact that Martin McGuinness and Dr. Paisley are Deputy First Minister designate and First Minister designate bestows upon them a certain prestige. Decisions will continue to be made in London until next year but the fact that these two men are now Ministers designate will make a difference when they engage in discussions with civil servants in the North.

The Bill has my 100% support. It is first class legislation and what it envisages must be done. We are aware of the benefits we have received from the European Union to date in respect of these programmes. However, I am more interested in the development of an all-Ireland economy. I want investors from abroad to be able to look at the island of Ireland and see that there is a common corporation tax rate. The Taoiseach would be supportive of such a development. We would not be obliged to worry about the competition and would be delighted to work towards the establishment of peace and social justice in Northern Ireland and the development of human rights, North and South. In that regard, I would welcome the North joining the Celtic tiger economy.

I do not wish to criticise or offend Senator Maurice Hayes, but structural changes are required in the Northern Ireland economy. Too many people there are involved in the public sector; not enough are employed in the productive private sector.