Covid-19 and the Irish Border. A Preliminary Analysis of Cross-Border Cooperation Considering Health and Work Issues

Abstract

On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation warned its members and the world that Covid-19 had reached pandemic status and could not be controlled. As a consequence, countries across the world decided to seal off their own borders and implement various lockdown policies to avoid the spread of coronavirus, and protect the lives of their own citizens as death tolls rose. Across Europe, some form of late cooperation came when EU countries decided to play collectively when they bought vaccines together. In March 2020, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland entered lockdowns, mirroring actions in other countries. Though the border had become a contentious issue since Brexit, it remained open during this period. Following two decades of violence, the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) in 1998 had opened a new era of peace, and placed cooperation at the core of North-South relationships. Twenty-five years after the Agreement was signed, this article questions the extent of cross-border cooperation in health and work between both parts of Ireland at the time of COVID. Even though the GFA has led to some fruitful collaboration since the early 2000s (e.g. cross border radiotherapy and emergency services), the findings point to a lack of cooperation in health during the pandemic. It also highlights the situation of cross-border workers and the need for further discussions on their future status in a post-Covid labour market marked by the rise of tele-working practices.

Keywords

• Northern Ireland
• work
• health
• Covid-19
• Republic of Ireland
• cross-border cooperation