Infrastructural problems plague border counties

Martina Anderson, Eamonn Molloy and Barry McElduff

Sinn Féin spokesperson on All-Ireland and Cross-Border Integration, Barry McElduff MLA, says that accelerated all-Ireland integration is essential if the legacy of social and economic neglect in the border counties is to be tackled.

He was speaking after he and Martina Anderson, the party's All-Ireland Strategy Co-ordinator, met recently with Eamonn Molloy of the North West Region Cross-Border Group (NWRCBG).

"Since being appointed Sinn Féin spokesperson, it has become quite apparent that the time-bound commitments made within the Common Chapter of the regional development plans, North and South, are not being implemented in a substantial and strategic manner," said McElduff. "The meeting was informative and confirmed my belief that much attention needs to be placed on how the needs of the Border Corridor are being addressed. I noted the work conducted by NWRCBG to date — but much more needs to be done. The Border Corridor is made up of all the counties along the line of partition and as a result it is one of the most deprived areas on the island of Ireland.

"As an elected representative from a border constituency I find it particularly offensive that people who live and work in that area are being denied a better quality of life and opportunities for work because of the negative and dislocating nature of the British border in Ireland.

"If we take for example the 'back to back' energy and communications supply in border regions, they are clearly inadequate and will not address demand. In Tyrone over the Christmas period I brought it to the attention of the media that many areas suffered power cuts and as I understand this also happened in County Derry as well. Understandably, this brought great distress to my constituents as it did in Derry at the most inappropriate time of the year.

"And just last weekend, Inishowen suffered the worst power cut and communications blackout in more than five years, with over 14,000 people affected in that peripheralised region. Our society is predicted upon access to quality energy supply and good communications, but the power grids are overloaded and access to integrated broadband cabling is completely inadequate. In the regional spatial strategies there is a firm commitment to create all-Ireland energy and communications infrastructure — why has there been no identifiable movement on that commitment? As usual, it is the people who are paying for this inaction.

"This is a graphic example of the negative impact of the Border on the lives of ordinary people. Sinn Féin has always understood that fact; increasingly other sections of society and the social partners in the border areas are coming to the same view. Sinn Féin believes that intensive and community-led integration is the way forward. We have a strategy document in place that can be downloaded from our website. The document outlines our analysis and maps our vision to promote cross-border integration; we also see it as a document to facilitate discussion on this important issue.

"The meeting was the third in a series of engagements with key agencies and departments charged with the delivery of All-Ireland and Cross-Border Cooperation and I will leave no stone unturned to ensure that process of integration is kept on track."