Single Irish state the best way to achieve 'economic benefits' - SDLP

The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) is to launch its policies on an economic framework for a united Ireland on Thursday.

Party leader Claire Hanna is to launch a report from the party which looks at how economies on both sides of the border can be brought together in the event of a united Ireland to solve problems and maximise potential in both nations.

Hanna said the party seeks to "reframe the north not as some sort of pity party or an inevitable drain in a new Ireland, but as an asset."

"We don't need to wait for any future border poll to start doing the things the make the economy work better for people."

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme, Hanna said: "Whatever your constitutional aspiration, there are things that we need to do now to have a better economy, and therefore better opportunities for people.

"There are lots of opportunities, for example a joint all-Ireland infrastructure fund, shared planning on things like skills and the workforce that we could be doing now regardless of where we go constitutionally," the south Belfast MP said.

Among the proposals included in the report, it says there should be "targeted investment" in the Dublin–Belfast and the north west (Londonderry– Letterkenny) corridors, including investment in transport, housing and innovation.

This would "unlock the potential of these underdeveloped but strategically important regions".

A proposed Joint Infrastructure Fund would support the planning and delivery of cross-border infrastructure priorities:

• rail upgrades
• cross-border roads
• offshore renewables
• digital connectivity

The SDLP is also proposing setting up a targeted graduate return scheme to incentivise university leavers to come back, with relocation supports, and incentives for employers in a bid to tackle brain drain.

Local authorities should be devolved, given more powers and resources so they can play a "central" role in regional growth, housing and regeneration, the report says.

"This paper is an invitation to plan responsibly, to think boldly and to build an economy that works for everyone who calls this island home," Hanna said.

"The SDLP is ready to realise that ambition and work with others to make it a reality."

"This work is essential not only to building a new Ireland, but to building a better Northern Ireland along the way and tackling the real pressures people face in their daily lives.

"We won't be able to answer every question about what the future will look like but we need to start those conversations now.

"That's why the SDLP is bringing forward serious proposals around a Ministry for a New Ireland and an economic vision that allows us to take those important next steps."