Background - Obstacles to Cross Border Mobility
BACKGROUND
In September 2000, the North/South Ministerial Council commissioned a Study of Obstacles to Mobility between the two parts of the island of Ireland. The Council agreed that the Study be taken forward through a joint North/South Steering Group of officials, which would report to the Council. Following a tendering process, the joint Steering Group appointed consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers and Indecon to carry out the Study.
The Terms of Reference for the Study were agreed as follows:
to identify the obstacles to mobility of persons, in either direction, between North and South on the island of Ireland, including:
(a) persons living in one jurisdiction and working or seeking to work in the other;
(b) persons who have lived and worked in one jurisdiction but who either have moved, or wish to do so, to live and work in the other jurisdiction;
(c) students whose original residence is in one jurisdiction but who are studying, or wish to do so, in the other jurisdiction; and
(d) persons who have lived in one jurisdiction and now live, or wish to live, in the other jurisdiction without working for remuneration.
in the areas of:
- direct and indirect taxation
- vehicle importation and registration
- social security
- pensions
- health
- education
- training
- recognition of qualifications
- employment law
- housing
- childcare
- telecommunications
- banking
- insurance
- transport services
- any other significant legal, regulatory or administrative barriers.
and to consider and recommend ways in which these barriers might be eliminated or overcome by the public and private sectors, as appropriate, in both jurisdictions.
The consultants' final report, which contained fifty recommendations, was put before Council in November 2001. Council agreed that, prior to offering a view on the consultants' findings, conclusions and recommendations, it would publish the Study for consultation to allow interested individuals and organisations, including Government Departments, to give their views on the recommendations and their implementation. The Study was accordingly published in February 2002 and a public consultation was conducted on behalf of the Steering Group by the Centre for Cross-Border Studies. The Steering Group also consulted with Government Departments and Agencies.
In the light of these consultations, the Steering Group evaluated the consultants' recommendations and, where appropriate, made proposals on implementation. The Steering Group's report was put to Council at the Plenary Meeting held in Armagh on 28 June 2002. The table in the next section summarises the evaluation of all of the recommendations within five distinct agreed categories. The categorisation does not imply a particular priority or significance.
