The Ulster Unionist Party is calling for a reduction in the number of North-South Implementation Bodies as part of the package of Institutional Reform under consideration in the Secretary of State’s current talks process.

Currently, there are six North-South Implementation organisations, plus a range of other Bodies, including Tourism Ireland.

Ulster Unionist Leader, Mike Nesbitt, said:

“If these talks are to achieve anything, they must bring a renewed focus on wealth generation for our people. Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are neighbours, enjoying a highly accessible land border, yet no one argues we are anywhere near maxing out the potential for exports and trade.

“That is why we believe we should abolish a number of the current North South bodies and concentrate our efforts and resources on InterTrade Ireland, the body that promotes cross-border trade and global competitiveness for all.

“We also call for a review of Tourism Ireland and the way we market tourism beyond the island of Ireland. Tourism remains a huge area for economic growth for Northern Ireland and yet the Northern Ireland Tourist Board is severely restricted in what it can and cannot do, because of the presence of Tourism Ireland, which is the only tourism body that markets Northern Ireland overseas.

“We believe we should re-structure the way we market tourism to align it with the way we conduct overseas trade missions. In other words, it should be possible for the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and Fáilte Ireland to do their own thing when they wish, or to engage in joint promotions where it makes sense. That is exactly the way it is done with trade missions. The current regime on tourism is unnecessarily restrictive and without breaking the confidentiality of the talks, we know both governments get the logic of our argument. 

“These are practical, cost-effective proposals to shift the political focus away from the dependence culture to efforts towards generating serious wealth for our people.”