£11,243,000 Annual Cost to NI Taxpayers of Cross-Border Co-Operation
26 February 2013
Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“TUV has constantly said that the all-Ireland agenda of the Belfast Agreement is an economic drain on our Province. This analysis is now dramatically supported by figures which I have obtained from the Finance Minister. These illustrate that co-operation with the Republic of Ireland has delivered a derisory £327,000 in savings for Northern Ireland but the additional cost imposed on the provision of services due to proximity to the Republic of Ireland is a shocking £11.570 million – a net loss to Northern Ireland taxpayers of £11.243 million, this year alone!
“This includes an £8.34 million drain on our Further Education colleges, a three quarters of a million net cost due to pupils resident in the Republic of Ireland being educated in the Province and a £1.57 million cost due to Republic of Ireland domiciled residents on vocational courses in Northern Ireland.
“These figures graphically demonstrate that, as far as the Northern Ireland taxpayer is concerned, North-South is largely a one way drain on our resources. The economic cost of Belfast Agreement politics is one we could not bear at the best of times, never mind at a time when the public finances are under such severe strain.
“It’s also important to keep in mind that these figures do not take account of the cost of the North-South Bodies. These cost us £25m pa, so the actual annual cost of north-southery is over £36m pa”.
