The impact of COVID legislation and policy on cross-border integration: The Case of Cross-Border (Frontier) Workers

The impact of COVID legislation and policy on cross-border integration: The Case of Cross-Border (Frontier) Workers in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland

The aim of the “Time to measure cross-border impacts: Building sustainable North-South relationships and connections” project has been to promote a more informed discussion on the need for ‘border proofing’ of legislation/policy:

• Understanding how decisions, particularly legislative changes, made by the Irish, British and Northern Ireland governments, along with the EU, impact on cross-border integration.
• Assessing impact on North/South and East/West cooperation and on our ability to capture the full potential of the communities living and working on these islands.
• Considering in more depth the issues that have emerged for cross-border workers as they have navigated the complexities of decisions taken during the pandemic crisis on working and living in different jurisdictions.

COVID has shone a light on the impact of existing legislation/policy for cross-border workers and unearthed hidden complexities …

• Divergence between COVID approaches in the two jurisdictions around public health measures and supports
• Lack of information and total confusion at the outset – some understandable given the speed of the development of interventions BUT not all.
• A lack of ‘joined up’ response bringing significant challenges in understanding what rules/supports applied – challenging for workers, employers, advice organisations.

A number of issues have been brought to the fore that challenge the concept of free movement of workers, some transitory others more lasting…

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