The Minister for Finance, Mr McCreevy, has said that there is scope for further cross-Border co-operation, where an "island of Ireland" approach is clearly in the common interests of both parts of the country.

Addressing a special luncheon of Dundalk Chamber of Commerce yesterday, he said areas of co-operation could "include environment related issues, veterinary and plant health matters, approaches to the common agriculture and fisheries policies, roads and other transport infrastructure". Mr McCreevy said there are clear practical gains and economies of scale to be had from working together in other areas such as tourism, public health and waste disposal. Co Louth has benefited from the EU structural funding for the Border region, which amounts to £1.3 billion in the current provision. "The scale of potential benefits arising from co-operation under the structural fund programmes depends to a large extent on the degree to which co-operation takes place in the context of the broader economic relationship between the two economies," he added.

In a private meeting with the Minister, the Chamber of Commerce expressed its disappointment at Louth being excluded from special incentives for investment in hotels contained in the last Finance Bill.