Hard-earned economic gains of the Belfast Agreement must not be squandered

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement, the landmark UN-registered international agreement between the United Kingdom and Ireland that laid the foundations for bringing forward a shared peace process.

As we approach this significant milestone, businesses across the all-island economy should reflect on the remarkable period of prosperity that the agreement has facilitated, not just in Ireland, but across the United Kingdom. It is a prosperity that has seen hundreds of thousands of jobs created, thousands of new businesses flourish, and investment in formerly forgotten communities pour in, all of which has significantly enhanced overall living standards and quality of life across the island of Ireland.

This intervening period has been characterised by a seismic transformation in the Irish economy. We have seen Ireland go from being one of the economic laggards of the western world to one of the most resilient, dynamic and prosperous economies globally. Such profound developments would not have been made possible without the signing of the Belfast Agreement.

The certainty instilled by the agreement has allowed the all-island economy to better integrate crucial physical infrastructures in energy and transport on the island, strengthening efficiencies, better leveraging assets, and reducing costs for consumers. What is more, it has allowed us to leverage intangible assets such as research ties, the mobility of people and ideas, and the all-island tourism brand.

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Cross-Border co-operation and gains have been derived, to the benefit of both the UK and Ireland, in a multitude of areas ranging from environmental collaboration, crash and emergency services, education, energy, tourism, recreation, social cohesion and transport. The agreement, strengthened by our once-shared membership of the single market, brought tangible benefits in the scale, spread and intensity of trade across the island.

Whether it be in dairy products, whiskey, the experience economy or manufacturing, the growth of all-island brands and supply chains has been catalysed by supporting the principles and commitments adhered to in the Belfast Agreement.

While this anniversary ought to be celebrated, it also affords a timely opportunity for reflection and acknowledgment that we cannot afford complacency. While much progress has been made, there remains much to be done to deliver full prosperity to the island.

Much of the prosperity delivered by the all-island economy over the past 2½ decades is owed to the presence of an invisible Border that allows for seamless cross-Border investment, recruitment, production, supply chains, R&D collaboration, marketing and much more. However, the continuing uncertainty surrounding Brexit and the Northern Ireland protocol and how this will affect not just North-South dynamics but also those of east-west, weighs heavily on investors’ minds and risks eroding hard-earned gains.

Northern Ireland continues to endure a brain drain, with thousands of school-leavers going to Britain for their third-level education. Productivity challenges persist in both jurisdictions.

Furthermore, both jurisdictions need to make significant investments in infrastructure to support further economic gains and opportunities identified, particularly in relation to our shared climate challenge. In Ireland this has begun in earnest – now it requires the speedy implementation of the National Planning Framework (NPF) and National Development Plan (NDP) including its all-island priorities.

Northern Ireland’s Regional Development Strategy 2035 requires immediate updating, and equally rapid progress is needed to deliver essential infrastructure investment in the short and longer term. Failure to do so will result in increasingly chronic infrastructure deficits that negatively impact on competitiveness and the quality of people’s lives.

This year, Ibec will lead a campaign that calls on stakeholders across the UK and Ireland to use this milestone anniversary to reflect on the remarkable period of prosperity for both islands that the Belfast Agreement facilitated, and the importance of underpinning it for future posterity, particularly post-Brexit and with the UK no longer in the EU single market, itself a crucial facilitator of the peace and prosperity agreement.

This week we published an economic impact report on the benefits of peace to Ireland. The report showed that an end to violence made Ireland a much more attractive place to live and work and has helped end decades of outward migration, and that this, in turn, has resulted in record numbers of young talented workers on the island.

The report also showed that in a world where certainty is the key ingredient for companies investing in any country, the peace process gave more certainty for companies placing key assets, infrastructure and teams in Ireland.

If we are to meaningfully mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Agreement, it is imperative that the governments of the UK and Ireland, alongside the European Union, work with the respective business communities to establish detailed, innovative and workable solutions needed to protect and build on the benefits delivered by the all-island economy and ensure its future development is not hampered in any way.

It is how, ultimately, Northern Ireland, Britain and Ireland, together with EU and US partners, can ensure that the full potential of the agreement is achieved.

Danny McCoy is chief executive of Ibec