Taking into consideration the economic, social and cultural benefits, I feel the United Kingdom’s benefits for Northern Ireland (NI) outweigh the negatives. I will outline this perspective using a threefold approach; addressing firstly, economic advantages such as investment; secondly, social through public health schemes such as the health trust, our branch of the NHS and finally culturally; enabling NI to have a platform to celebrate our unique and rich culture and community which has formed through decades of coexisting in a tense political environment.
Being part of the 5th largest economy in the world gives NI a huge stage for foreign direct investment which few can rival. This prosperous and stable economy allows us to boast world class public services. The pinnacle of which being the Health and Social Care Trust. An all-encompassing health service, free at the point of delivery is in stark contrast with the Republic of Ireland in which most pay on average 50 euro to see their GP. The benefit of this isn’t just a reality in Northern Ireland but further afield as well;
Donald Berwick, former US Administrator of the Centre for Medicare and Medicaid Services states, [1] “I am romantic about the NHS. I love it.” Northern Ireland’s membership of the UK ensures this world famous vital front-line service is accessible and available to all of us.
On a more personal basis, the Union is more than a political issue. It supersedes that. England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland get involved in every element of modern-day life together including sport, the arts, and business. We work better together as one than we ever would apart; it simply makes sense. Personally, I attend university in England along with English, Scottish and Welsh students, I have thrived on the ability to access the UK university education and the wide choices through the University and College Admission Service (UCAS) seamlessly compared to the barriers when applying from outside the UK. It should be remembered that 8 of the top ten and around 80 of the top universities in Europe are UK based.
I am pleased to be part of a nation which boasts some of the highest foreign aid spending in the world and whose armed forces not only provide security, but also disaster relief in times of need. A specific example is the deployment of HMS Ocean in 2017 after Hurricane Irma devastated many Caribbean Islands.
The UK distributed 135 tonnes of aid, delivered 10 million gallons of safe water along with half a million water purification tablets[2] to these islands as well as providing a centre for the whole disaster relief effort, this is one example of disaster relief among many and I hope the UK continues this tradition of assisting others when needed.
However, geographically and occasionally culturally, we in Northern Ireland, see ourselves apart from our friends in Great Britain, and I celebrate our diversity and uniqueness through my Northern Irish identity. Not as a weakness of the union but as a strength. I don’t believe that a Northern Irish identity is in contrast to being pro-union or that they are non-compatible, in fact I believe they complement each other. It allows us to showcase our place and people from our perspective to the world from the platform that is being part of the UK provide. Devolution, allowing local people to decide how they allocate certain aspects of public spending, embodies this spirit of encouraging a nation’s individualism within a larger framework of support.
In light of this, I feel the benefits the Union brings for Northern Ireland at this point in time outweigh the negatives, even with Brexit, we are presented an opportunity as a gateway between the UK and the EU with citizens having the right to claim either nationality or indeed both. I feel the union brings the most benefit to the people of Northern Ireland. However, it must be noted that my view is not all encompassing, and it does not intend to be, but is reflective of what I experience and believe in when I looked beyond the narrative assigned to me by what school I choose to go to, and how my family have been brought up.
My opinion simply intends to balance the advantages and disadvantages, to present an informed argument on why being pro-UK is favourable for our home place and the wider nation.
[1] Donald M. Berwick (2013). “Promising Care: How We Can Rescue Health Care by Improving It”, p.158, John Wiley & Sons
[2] Source: Royal Navy https://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/news-and-latest-activity/operations/old-operations/op-ruman
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