Ministers present certificates at North/South and Cross-Border Public Sector Training Programme

North/South and Cross-Border Public Sector Training Programme

4 April 2005
Canal Court Hotel, Newry

The Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office, Mr Ian Pearson MP, and the Minister of State at the Irish Department of Agriculture and Food, Mr Brendan Smith TD, presented certificates to 20 civil and public servants who were the first graduates of the North/South Public Sector Training Programme. This is the first time since partition that a group of public officials from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland have undertaken a joint training programme.

The programme was organised jointly by the Centre for Cross Border Studies, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) and Co-operation Ireland. It was funded by the EU Peace II programme.

The 20 officials who have taken the three month course came from a wide range of civil and public service organisations including the Office of the First and Deputy First Minister, the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, the North/South Ministerial Council, the Irish Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment, the Health and Safety Executive Northern Ireland, the Irish Health and Safety Authority, InterTradeIreland, the Special EU Programmes Body, the Institute of Public Health in Ireland, the Border Regional Authority (RoI), Ballymena Borough Council, Newry and Mourne District Council, Roscommon County Council and Kildare County Council.

The programme for the final day was as follows:

‘Middletown to Monaghan: A Social Economic Study of the benefits of the proposed re-opening of the Ulster Canal’, [721 kb] by Michael McCartan, Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure and Caroline Brady, Border Regional Authority.

Centre’s press release, NIO press release,
Mr Ian Pearson MP’s speech and Mr Brendan Smith TD’s speech