British Irish Parliamentary Assembly Co-Chair addresses Conservative Party Conference

The Co-Chairman of the British Irish Parliamentary Assembly, Joe McHugh TD, has called for public services to be pooled on both sides of the border where possible. Deputy McHugh raised the issue when he addresses the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester this morning.

Deputy McHugh commented, "The Conservative Government in Britain is working with the DUP First Minister and the Sinn Féin Deputy First Minister at Stormont to drive a severe austerity programme in Northern Ireland. That austerity agenda is focused on eliminating the duplication of public facilities which developed in the second half of the 20th century to service separate sides of a divided Northern community.

"The British Government and the Stormont Executive should also work with the Irish Government to cut out the waste and duplication at a North-South level on this island. There is a huge amount of unnecessary duplication on this island. At a time of financial crisis it makes sense for Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland to pool resources and to share services.

"There are many cases where this kind of North-South co-operation is already working. Major health and road projects are being co-funded by the Governments on both sides of the border. We should now be looking at how we can extend this principle, to ensure the most efficient and cost effective provision of services."

ENDS