Did you know that 14 million cars cross the border between Dundalk and Newry every year? That at least 18,000 workers and 5,200 students cross the border every day to work or study? That 1.7 million people cross the border by bus or train every year for short-term visits?
In January 2007 the NSMC Joint Secretariat, on behalf of the Office of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister (OFMDFM) and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) , awarded a contract to the Centre for Cross Border Studies (CCBS) to develop a Cross-border Mobility website (www.borderpeople.info) as a central access point for all cross-border mobility information on the island of Ireland.
Over a two-year period CCBS will manage and centrally co-ordinate the software development and content of the cross-border mobility information website.
The website is structured around the four concepts or THEMES of:
- ‘Commute’
- 'Work’
- ‘Live’
- ‘Study’
and includes information on public sector issues such as taxation, social security and job seeking, health and education as well as private sector issues such as banking, housing and telecommunications.
The website is a tangible and practical example of the two Governments working together for the benefit of citizens, North and South.
