Ministers address to Co-operation Ireland

Thank you, Tony, for your warm introduction.  

Ladies and Gentlemen, the name Tony Kennedy has become synonymous with the development of cross-border relationships within the voluntary sector and beyond.  For that reason, Tony, I would like to pay a particular tribute to you personally.  I wish you an active and happy retirement after 16 years with Co-operation Ireland.  (I also wish Peter Sheridan every success as he takes over at the end of the year.  I almost said when he ‘picks up the baton’!)

It is a pleasure to be here as I recognise around this room the faces of many people that I have met and talked with over recent years.  People for whom reconciliation has forever been the top priority. I have always admired the work of Cooperation Ireland and its people -  and your commitment to dealing with the difficult issues;

It is a real challenge for divided communities to live and work together. Indeed the challenge is all the greater in a society moving out of conflict. Also, building North/South relationships is not just a ‘good friends’ idea.  It is an essential ingredient to building the modern society which we aspire to in both parts of this island.  

The Core Programme, the Exchanges Programmes, the Civic Links Programmes, the Local Authorities Programme (even the cycling!) which Co-operation Ireland offers, all contribute to breaking down barriers, challenging perceptions, sharing experiences and best practice.

Your work has, of course, evolved: I remember well when Cooperation Ireland started its mission back in the late 1970’s.  At that time there was very little inter-community contact across the border - or indeed across the divide in the North.

I believe Cooperation Ireland has succeeded in completely transforming that situation. And it has not been the easy option of bringing together like-minded people or simply preaching to the converted. You have engaged the cynics and the hard-liners and opened many closed minds.  You have earned the respect of many who were suspicious of you at the start. Along the way you have contributed hugely to reconciliation and mutual understanding. You have helped to get all of us into the better place we are in today.

I too share your commitment to working on an all island basis.  I believe that we will only reap the full rewards of the peace process when we can maximise the social and economic opportunities available to us on an all island basis.

My department meets regularly with the UK and Ireland Government and Voluntary Sector Forum.  The Department for Community Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and ‘The Wheel’ a representative voluntary group from the South, also attend these meetings.

This forum was set up to provide a formal platform to facilitate discussion of shared policy issues and developments relevant to the voluntary and community sector. New initiatives and government policies are discussed and areas for joint working identified.

There are now also very  well established links between the Housing Executive and Housing Authorities in the South.  The Housing Executive provides considerable technical and professional support including training for Local Authorities, and these are promising institutional relationships.

I have instigated work in many other areas and this is being taken forward by my officials. This includes work with the women’s sector; volunteering, gambling regulation and liquor licensing, community development and of course housing.

So overall we have a substantive North/South agenda in my Departmental areas of responsibility. But I have to admit that my main preoccupation lies within the confines of the North. I speak of course of that elusive utopia ‘ A Shared Future’. Except it is not a utopia. It is merely a desire to have a normal, healthy society where diversity is a strength and where people have a common vision of the future.

At long last we have a measure of political stability which now gives us a chance of addressing the development of our local economy. The Executive in the agreed Programme for Government has prioritised the economy. Hopefully we will make progress on this front.

But at the same time we must address the fundamental problems of our dysfunctional society. Although we manage to share the workplace to some extent – we are deeply divided and segregated in terms of where we live, in terms of how our children are educated and in our social lives.

We need a stable society, where our children can play together, where people can work together and where families can live happily side by side, regardless of their community background and their ethnic background beliefs.  This mutual acceptance and respect are the determining factors that will enrich our communities and give us a stable, prosperous and growing economy.

But a Shared Future will not just happen naturally. It has to be built by placing it at the centre of everything we do. Across all areas of Government and policy-making.

That is why I have put ‘Shared Future’ at the centre of my New Housing Agenda’.  Housing is my top priority – but while I want to build more houses and help more people onto the property ladder – I cannot accept the perpetuation of division and segregation in housing.

We will be rolling out the Shared Future concept across a range of new housing developments – like the Carran Crescent development in Enniskillen. We will also be signing up many existing estates for a new ‘Shared Future’ charter.

People who live right across Northern Ireland and in particular those who live at interface areas and in border areas must be able to see and feel the impact of our Shared Future policy on the ground.  It won’t be enough to say that ‘the policy is working’. It has to be seen and felt by people on the front line.

As a member of the Executive I will be pressing other Ministers to embed Shared Future thinking into their policymaking priorities. We all have to do the hard work of building a better society. That is the fundamental challenge of today.

Cooperation Ireland continues to have an important role in this work.  And your organisation will have my support in the work it is doing to make Northern Ireland – and Ireland – a better place.

Last year I attended and spoke at the Pride of Place Awards in Westport, organised by Co-operation Ireland. I was hugely impressed by local people, councillors, mayors, community workers from all parts of this island celebrating  the difference they have made to their communities. A tremendous example of civic pride and real cross border spirit at work. I have since met with Co-operation Ireland and am very keen to see Pride of Place 2009 take place in Northern Ireland.

People often ask if there’s one thing which is making the difference as we aim for a shared future. Although I have targeted housing, I don’t think there is one thing.  I believe there are very many good things happening which are all necessary and important and Co-operation Ireland’s contribution is undoubtedly one of those good things.

I wish you well and hope you continue to make a difference.