Economy tops agenda at British-Irish summit

By PETER GEOGHEGAN
Published on 22/10/2012 01:25

GOVERNMENTS on both sides of the Irish Sea must work together to stimulate economic growth in Scotland, Ireland, and the rest of the UK, delegates at today’s British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly in Glasgow, will be told.

The annual two-day meeting, which is being held for only the second time in Scotland, will focus on efforts to boost trade and tourism as well as devolution and energy.

Established in 1990, the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly was originally a forum to promote peace in Northern Ireland but has become an increasingly important opportunity to address trade issues between Ireland and the UK.

This year, business and trade union representatives from across Scotland will join parliamentarians from Westminster, Holyrood, Dublin, Northern Ireland, Wales, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands to discuss the plenary theme, “The Scottish Economy and Irish/Scottish Relations”.

Co-chairman and Conservative MP Laurence Robertson said: “It is important that there is a two-way discussion between business and trade union leaders, trade union representatives and members of the Assembly so that policymakers fully understand the positions of both employee and employer when making the economic decisions that will help build recovery.”