Working towards all-Ireland integration

A large Sinn Féin delegation, drawn from activists all over the island, recently attended the inaugural workshop to launch the International Centre for Local and Regional Development. The centre will be based in Athlone and is a joint venture between Harvard University, NUI Maynooth and the University of Ulster.

The participants discussed the planned integration of spatial strategies North and South. The purpose of the centre will be to work with local government planners, public representatives and community decision makers to promote practical methods of developing integrated all-Ireland spatial planning.

The Sinn Féin delegation included Derry City Councillor Barney O'Hagan, Chairperson of the Cross-Border Corridor Group, and was led by Barry McElduff MLA, party spokesperson on All-Ireland Integration.

"In broad terms we would welcome this initiative by the three universities — providing that it remains an accountable, apolitical body," said O'Hagan. "This was a very well attended event, with a whole range of interested parties and decision makers from across the island and the EU. The consensus was that all-Ireland spatial integration was needed and that the centre would prove to be a useful tool in tying together the various strategies into a coherent all-Ireland framework.

"All-Ireland spatial integration must take place if we are to successfully develop a prosperous and dynamic all-Ireland economy. Sinn Féin is committed to building an Ireland of Equals, so we must not forget that while spatial and economic integration are interdependent, these two all-Ireland development agendas will have a significant social impact. As public representatives and decision makers, we must ensure that this impact is positive and seeks to promote equality.

"The EU is setting the criteria for integrated spatial development in all EU member states. Areas in Ireland like the Northwest, the West, Southwest and all of the Border Corridor have been historically discriminated against in terms of spatial development. Only an all-Ireland party with a clear vision to promote spatial equality on the island of Ireland within the EU can deliver. Sinn Féin is that party."