The Orange song ‘Up the border, keep the border is my cry’ neatly encapsulates the raison d’etre of unionism. But they are not the only group with a vested interest in the preservation of the highly contentious frontier – northern retailers benefit from the substantial north-south price differential. There is also another important and growing sector – the cross-border worker.
The Irish land border has been greatly diluted by the provisions of the EU single market, the Good Friday Agreement and the Windsor Framework. In fact, never in the 100-year history of partition has it
been easier to engage in cross-border working. This trend has been accelerated by other unforeseen circumstances. The Covid pandemic, which disrupted normal working
practices and technological advances, combined to create the opportunity to reside in one jurisdiction and work in another – at distances which had been previously prohibitive. Now, with employer consent, staff working in Dublin while resident in much cheaper properties in Northern Ireland can work predominantly from home and attend the office one or two days a week. It is the best of both worlds. A higher ROI salary combined with free access to the NHS health care, a good quality of life and a dramatically lower cost of living.
Cost comparison website estimates reveal that a consumer would incur approximately 50 per cent higher expenditure in Dublin to maintain the same standard of living as in Belfast. However, this advantage for the north must be calibrated with the knowledge that average northern salaries are 25 per cent lower than those in the south. But, for those earning ROI salaries, residence in the north is very alluring. Furthermore, it is also widely recognised that the quality of life in Belfast is better than in Dublin. Belfast has an advantage over Dublin being a more rustic, smaller city with less pollution, less traffic congestion and easier access to the countryside.
The highly esteemed economist David McWilliams has asserted that “It makes no sense for an island this small to be divided”. However, for the various and diverse cross-border beneficiaries, it makes a lot of sense. Also the unique selling point of dual access to the GB and EU markets bestowed on NI by the Windsor Framework, due to its political land frontier and trade sea border, could potentially act as a magnet for foreign investment into the province.
All that remains to be said is “Up the borders, keep the borders is my cry”.
GEORGE WORKMAN
Donabate, Co Dublin
Labour display of double standards
Recently Labour MP Diane Abbott, responding to an article on racism in The Observer by New Statesmen columnist Tomiwa Owolade, said that “Tomiwa Owolade claims that Irish, Jewish and Traveller people all suffer from ‘racism’. They undoubtedly experience prejudice. This is similar to racism and the two words are often used as if they are interchangeable. It is true that many types of white people with points of difference, such as redheads, can experience this prejudice. But they are not all their lives subject to racism. In pre-civil rights America, Irish people, Jewish people and Travellers were not required to sit at the back of the bus. In apartheid South Africa, these groups were allowed to vote. And at the height of slavery, there were no white-seeming people manacled on the slave ships.”
Following an outcry she apologised and said that her words were badly chosen and that she did not intend the meaning many people took from them. She has been condemned by the Labour Party, had the whip removed and is awaiting investigation for possible antisemitism.
In August 2020, Labour MP Barry Sheerman, referring to the failure of two prominent Jewish businessmen to be appointed to the House of Lords said: “Apparently there has been a bit of a run on silver shekels.” Following an outcry he apologised and said that his words were badly chosen and that he did not intend the meaning many people took from them. A Labour Party spokesperson said: ‘Barry has apologised. He deeply regrets the offence caused’. That was the end of the matter. This is double standards.
BRENDAN O’BRIEN
London
Good reason to poke ‘British Bear’
I find Suneil Sharma’s letter – ‘Mr Feeney’s only sport seems to be ‘poking the British bear’ (May 1) rather strange. I can understand that his pro-British sentiments may be offended at times but to criticise Brian Feeney for having a political point of view he disagrees with is very strange. I wonder if Suneil has read any ‘partisan’ political narratives in the British tabloids recently? If so I will look out for his letter and accusations of partisanship there. It would seem that Suneil does not understand that political commentators are allowed a view of events like anyone else. As for poking the ‘British Bear’, as the letter describes Brian’s articles, it seems a bit ludicrous when half his letter ‘poked the bald eagle’ and insisted on telling an American president how he should have behaved as he appeared to know better than all us ‘US sycophants’. Maybe if Suneil had read a little Irish history and understood the religious, economic and political discrimination suffered by generations in this country he might understand why Brian or anyone else feels entitled to poke the bear. To paraphrase Charles de Gaulle, the British have broken every treaty they ever signed and gone back on every word they have ever given. Is that not a good reason to poke the British Bear?
FRANCIS RICE
Belfast BT11
Fun way for children to move for a mile
Friday June 9 is NSPCC Childhood Day, the charity’s UK-wide flagship fundraising event.
NSPCC Northern Ireland is inviting organisations, schools, families, friends, and people of all ages to participate in the Childhood Day Mile – a fun way to move a mile and raise vital funds to help keep children safe.
Whether you walk it, dribble it, wheel it, or space hopper it – the possibilities are endless. And if June 9 is inconvenient, you can move a mile on another day.
To sign up, go to the NSPCC website (www.nspcc.org.uk) where there are also special Childhood Day resources for schools, nurseries, and childcare groups.
Once you have registered, we’ll send you a fundraising pack with everything you need to get started, and an NSPCC T-shirt to wear on your mile.
NSPCC Northern Ireland also needs volunteers to support us at our Belfast Childhood Day street collections on June 9. For more information about Childhood Day volunteering and fundraising, visit: Childhood Day 2023 at nspcc.org.uk.
Whether it’s by fundraising, donating, or volunteering at a collection, we’re appealing to the people in Belfast to play their part to help keep children safe from abuse.
STEFANI MEARNS
Fundraising manager, NSPCC Northern Ireland
