State bodies are failing to acknowledge discrimination and marginalisation experienced by Protestants who are living on the south side of the Border, a new report has concluded.
Research on the social impact of the Border shows that Protestant community-based organisations feel their cultural traditions are not valued, and have failed to attract funding for community infrastructure.
The Emerald Curtain, a report commissioned by Triskele Community Training and Development, also highlights the negative impact of the Border on women, ex-prisoners, displaced people and a number of specific geographic communities.
It estimates that around 2,000 ex-prisoners from the North and a further 2,000 from the South settled along the Border with their families over the last 30 years. The report says many of these continue to feel a sense of isolation and stigmatisation.
"Many suffered mental illness and considerable difficulty in readjustment on their release. This group continues to face difficulty in accessing employment due to both legal and illegal discrimination. Legal barriers prevent the holding of vehicle licences and travel," it found.
A further 11,000 displaced people, who settled along the southern Border during the Troubles, have also felt exclusion.
"They were assumed to be republican, and they were surprised at the level of hostility to republicanism in their host communities. There was little evidence of an outreach by health or social services to assist their families and their children. No programmes were put in place to assist displaced persons."
The economic impact of the Border was severe, with the imposition of customs posts leading to a rapid decline in trade and commerce. At the time of the single market, only 2 per cent of the Republic's trade went north, while 15 per cent of Northern exports went south.
Towns such as Clones were "ruined" by partition, the economic war, the conflict, the cratering of roads and the split with sterling.
"Social, trading, shopping and commercial patterns [ in Clones] were broken for over a generation, and may never recover. Not only did the government do little to help, but by withdrawing transport infrastructure actually contributed to the town's demise."
The report calls for additional Government expenditure in areas such as transport, health, community, postal and social services to help counter the negative impact of the Border.
It also urges the Equality Authority to investigate the situation of the Protestant minority community in the southern Border counties, and propose ways to address the specific issues of intimidation and funding.
The report says the needs of groups such as displaced persons and ex-prisoners should be recognised in the National Anti-Poverty Strategy. There should also be application, enforcement and monitoring of Government rules and guidelines for gender equality in public bodies in Border counties.
