Multimedia Mania/abacus-multimedia-mania.iso/dp/0050/00506.txt

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$Unique_ID{bob00506}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{United Kingdom
Community Relations}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC}
$Affiliation{Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC}
$Subject{northern
ireland
united
kingdom
government
per
community
terrorism
cent
prisoners
see
pictures
see
figures
}
$Date{1990}
$Log{}
Title:       United Kingdom
Book:        Northern Ireland
Author:      Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC
Affiliation: Embassy of the United Kingdom, Washington DC
Date:        1990

Community Relations

     In the Government's view it has a responsibility to formulate and sponsor
policies for the improvement of relations between the two traditions in
Northern Ireland and to take all the steps necessary in the administration of
public services to improve these relations. While seeking to promote full
equality of opportunity and equity of treatment, the Government also considers
that contact between the two traditions should be increased in order to reduce
suspicion and prejudice and build on the things that they have in common.

     The Government has established a Central Community Relations Unit which
reports to the Secretary of State on all aspects of community relations
policy. The work of the Unit is guided by a steering group of senior officials
from all the Northern Ireland departments and the Northern Ireland Office
under the chairmanship of a government minister. The role of the Unit is to
consider community relations issues in new and existing government policies
and to develop new ideas about improving community relations and supporting
those on the ground who are working to improve relations and reduce prejudice.

     The Government has also increased the existing annual community relations
budget of the Department of Education by 250,000 Pounds to support projects
directed at young people which are designed to promote cross-community
contact and understanding. Additional funds have also been made available
to organisations such as Corrymeela Community, the Columbanus Community and
the Community Relations in Schools Group which work towards reconcillation
between the two traditions, particularly in schools. The Government has also
emphasised the important role the youth service can play in promoting mutual
understanding and there is to be an increased programme of in-service training
for teachers to promote education for mutual understanding programmes in
schools. Curriculum guidelines for schools on education for mutual
understanding are also in preparation.

Emergency Powers

     In order to protect the public against terrorism, emergency legislation
has been enacted which gives the authorities exceptional powers to deal with
and prevent terrorist activities. The legislation, embodied in three Acts of
Parliament, takes full account of the need to achieve the proper balance
between the safety of the public and the rights of the individual: it must
be reviewed regularly by Parliament and has been subject to independent
scrutiny on a number of occassions.

     The Northern Ireland (Emergency Provisions) Acts 1978 and 1987 (first
introduced in 1973) are subject to annual independent review and to renewal
annually, and will lapse in 1992. If similar measures are still necessary,
they will have to be re-enacted by Parliament. The legislation provides the
security forces with special powers to search, question and arrest people
suspected of being involved in terrorism and enables the Secretary of State
to proscribe terrorist organisations. The Provisional IRA, the Irish National
Liberation Army, the 'loyalist' Ulster Freedom Fighters, and the Ulster
Volunteer Force have all been proscribed. It also provides for certain
'scheduled' (terrorist-type) offences to be tried by a High Court judge
sitting alone without a jury. The ending of jury trials for such offences
became necessary partly because of the intimidation of juries and partly
because of the danger in a divided community of juries reaching perverse
verdicts. The courts, often known as 'Diplock courts', were introduced in 1973
after the report of an independent commission chaired by Lord Diplock, an
eminent judge, had concluded that trial by jury was not practicable for
certain types of offence. (The Attorney-General has discretion, however, to
send certain cases for trial by jury and has increasingly done so in recent
years.) In spite of the absence of a jury the central principles of British
justice are maintained: the trial is in public; the onus is on the prosecution
to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt; and the defendant has the right to
take legal advice and to be represented by a lawyer. As a safeguard to
ensure that the absence of a jury does not lower the standards of justice
there is an automatic right of appeal against both conviction and sentence
without the normal requirement to seek leave to appeal. A person charged has,
therefore, the opportunity of having his or her case heard by four judges
(one initially and three on appeal). The procedures conform to the principles
of the European Convention on Human Rights and the United Nations Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights.

     There is a legal aid and advice scheme enabling people of modest or no
financial means to obtain legal representation by a solicitor or counsel of
their choice.

     Emergency powers are also contained in the Prevention of Terrorism
(Temporary Provisions) Act 1984, first introduced in 1974, which is applicable
throughout the United Kingdom and renewable every 12 months. The Act empowers
the Home Secretary or the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to make
exclusion orders against anyone connected with terrorism related to Northern
Ireland affairs, who is not a British citizen or who is a British citizen not
normally resident in the United Kingdom. Similar orders can be made against
non-residents of Great Britain preventing them from entering Great Britain
and against non-residents of Northern Ireland preventing them from entering
Northern Ireland. The Act also gives the police powers to arrest without
warrant people whom they reasonably suspect of being involved in terrorism
(whether international or related to Northern Ireland) and to hold them
for 48 hours, and with the approval of the Home Secretary or the Secretary
of State for Northern Ireland for up to a further five days. The Act provides
for security checks to be made on people travelling between Great Britain
and Ireland, makes it an offence to withhold information about acts of
terrorism, and allows for the proscription of terrorist organisations.

     The prevention of terrorism legislation has been the subject of a major
review and a new Bill to replace the Act, which expires in 1989, has been
drawn up. The Bill retains the existing powers and new provisions would
make it a criminal offence to handle, give or receive funds for use in the
furtherance of, or in connection with, terrorism. Once passed by Parliament,
the legislation will have no expiry date but will be renewable annually in
whole or in part.

     Further measures to combat terrorism are embodied in the Criminal
Jurisdiction Act 1975 which empowers courts in Northern Ireland to try
persons accused of committing terrorist offences in the Irish Republic:
reciprocal legislation is in force in the Republic.

     Extradition of suspected terrorists is regarded as an important weapon
against terrorism. The Irish Republic legislation, which enabled it to ratify
the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism, came into effect on
1 December 1987. Britain's supplementary extradition treaty with the United
States and the use of existing extradition arrangements with a number of other
countries are all indicators of international support in combating terrorism.

     A draft Order to amend the general criminal law in Northern Ireland
relating to evidence both before and during trial was approved by Parliament
in November 1988. Under this legislation a court will be allowed to take
account of the fact that an accused has remained silent when questioned and
to permit the court to draw whatever inferences appear proper from that fact.
Formerly the law in Northern Ireland, as at present in England and Wales,
prevented the prosecution or trial judge from suggesting that an adverse
inference may be drawn from the fact that an accused chooses to remain silent
when questioned by the police. In the Government's view, there is an
increasing tendency for people - including terrorists - suspected of serious
criminal offences to exploit this so-called right of silence. The Government
plans to make a similar change to the law in England and Wales.

     Traditional liberties, for example, the freedom of the press and
broadcasting authorities, remain in force. In the Government's view, however,
terrorists should not be allowed to draw support and sustenance from access
to television and radio and thereby address their views more directly to the
population at large than is possible through the press; it also believes that
the appearances of representatives of paramilitary organisations and their
political wings have caused widespread offence to viewers and listeners
particularly when they have used these opportunities to justify criminal
activities. In October 1988, therefore, the Government issued notices
requiring the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the Independent
Broadcasting Authority to refrain from broadcasting direct statements by
representatives of organisations proscribed in Northern Ireland and Great
Britain and by representatives of Sinn Fein, Republican Sinn Fein and the
Ulster Defence Association. Issued under the Licence and Agreement between
the Home Secretary and the BBC and under the Broadcasting Act 1981, the
notices apply only to direct broadcasts by representatives of the
organisations in question or by any person supporting or inviting support for
these organisations. Broadcasters remain free to report the views of the
organisations and the restrictions do not apply to the broadcasting of
parliamentary proceedings. The notices will have a more limited effect during
election periods in order not to impair the broadcasters' obligations to
provide impartial coverage. The restrictions are similar to those operating in
the Irish Republic.

Prisons

     Over the years, terrorist activity has led to a substantial increase in
Northern Ireland's prison population. The numbers peaked in 1978 at around
3,000 but have fallen gradually since then, stabilising at around 2,000 for
1987-88. Less than 40 of these are women. Ninety per cent of the prison
population is less than 40 years old. More than 60 per cent of the prisoners
currently serving sentences were convicted of criminal offences connected with
terrorism.

     There are no political prisoners in Northern Ireland; no one is
imprisoned without due process of law and there are no prisoners detained
under internment or executive detention. All inmates, including those charged
in relation to terrorism, have been committed to prison by the judiciary in
open court to face trial or to serve sentences for offences under the normal
criminal code. No one is imprisoned by virtue of their political opinions or
religious beliefs alone; many prisoners have been convicted of extremely
violent crimes. As at January 1988, more than 40 per cent of the sentenced
population had been convicted of murder and other offences of violence
against the person; a further 10 per cent had been convicted of firearms and
explosives offences.

     Many of those imprisoned in connection with terrorism claim that their
offences - often violent - were committed for political motives and therefore
that they should be treated differently from other criminals. The Government
has never accepted such arguments. 'Special category' status, which gave
certain prisoners extra privileges, was introduced in 1972 as an emergency
measure to deal with the dramatic increase in the prison population but the
Government decided in 1976 to phase it out. Between 1976 and 1981 republican
prisoners engaged in a series of protests, culminating in hunger strikes
in which ten died, in pursuit of their claim for political status and special
treatment. This the Government would not concede and its policy continues to
be to treat all prisoners on the basis of their offence, sentence, behaviour
and security risk, regardless of any claimed political motivation.

     Despite the serious and violent offences for which many are in prison,
the Government is committed to running a humane and flexible regime throughout
the prison system. As a result of the reduction in the prison population,
there is a significant surplus of cells, although some prisoners may be
required to share cells (with no more than one other prisoner) for reasons of
operational efficiency. Of Northern Ireland's six prisons or young offenders'
centres, five have been built since 1970; more than 250 cells have integral
sanitation with a further 300 becoming available to prisoners during 1988-89.
Inmates have daily exercise and association with other prisoners and regular
opportunities for physical recreation, leisure activities, education and
training. All prisoners may wear their own clothes. Convicted prisoners may
have weekly visits (in open conditions) with family and friends while those
on remand or awaiting trial may have up to three such visits a week. There
are also generous pre_release, compassionate and Christmas home leave
schemes for eligible inmates in order to help maintain family links.

     At present prisoners serving fixed sentences are granted remission of 50
per cent of their sentence. Under its new Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary
Provisions) Bill, however, the Government is proposing that the level of
remission on fixed sentences of five years or more in Northern Ireland for
terrorist-type offences should be reduced to one third. In addition a person
who is serving a sentence of more than one year for a terrorist-type offence
and who is released under the remission rules would serve the remaining
period if he or she was sentenced to a further custodial sentence for
committing another terrorist-type offence before the expiry of the first
sentence. The start of the new sentence would then follow. This change is
designed to deter people released from prison from becoming involved again in
terrorism and, if reconvicted, to keep them out of circulation for longer.

     As in the rest of the United Kingdom, life imprisonment is the mandatory
sentence for murder, the death penalty having been abolished for such
offences. As a result of the campaign of terrorist murder, waged by both
republican and 'loyalist' groups, prisons in Northern Ireland have to
accommodate a high proportion of inmates sentenced to life imprisonment.
Such prisoners may, however, be released into the community on licence.
This can, if necessary, be revoked and the individual required to return to
prison. All life sentence cases are reviewed regularly and are considered
by a Life Sentence Review Board after ten years of imprisonment and on
occasion earlier. The Board may recommend release or a further review in
between one and five years' time. The final decision to release a prisoner
under licence is taken by the Secretary of State. A number of prisoners
convicted of murder in connection with the current terrorist campaigns have
already been released under licence.

     The Prison Service in Northern Ireland continues to face major problems
as a result of the high proportion of prisoners who have continuing links
with terrorist organisations. These exert constant pressure - both inside
and outside the prisons - in an effort to undermine staff and destabilise
the system. Nevertheless, violence within Northern Ireland prisons is rare
and prison officers do not carry firearms within establishments. In
contrast, 26 prison staff have been murdered by terrorists while off duty.

Administration

     The Northern Ireland Office is the United Kingdom government department
in which the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, assisted by a
Minister of State and four Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State, has
overall responsibility for the government of Northern Ireland. The Secretary
of State is directly responsible for political and constitutional matters,
security policy and broad economic questions and other major policy issues,
while responsibility for the Departments of Agriculture, Economic
Development, Education, Environment, Finance and Personnel, and Health and
Social Services is shared among the other ministers. The Parliamentary
Commissioner for Administration investigates complaints of maladministration
against government departments; the Commissioner's powers include personnel
matters in the Northern Ireland Civil Service.

     For the purposes of local government Northern Ireland is divided into
26 districts which, in 1973, replaced the former two-tier structure of
counties and districts, boroughs and county boroughs. (These changes
formed part of the total reorganisation of the administration of local
services.) Their councils, elected on the basis of proportional
representation - special to Northern Ireland because it allows for the
representation of sizeable minorities - and universal adult suffrage, are
responsible for local environmental services, including street cleansing,
refuse disposal, consumer protection, environmental health and the
provision of recreational facilities. The district councils nominate
locally elected representatives to sit as members of the various
statutory bodies set up to administer such regional services as education
and libraries, health and personal social services, drainage, fire services
and electricity.

     Under proposals outlined in the Elected Authorities (Northern Ireland)
Bill, all candidates at district council elections in Northern Ireland would
be required to sign a declaration to the effect that, if elected, they would
not support terrorism or assist proscribed organisations (see p 11). The Bill
would also enfranchise some 10,500 people, mostly citizens of the Irish
Republic, who are currently able to vote in Parliamentary but not local
government elections in Northern Ireland.

Police

     The Police Authority for Northern Ireland, an independent body whose
members are appointed by the Secretary of State, has a statutory duty to
maintain an adequate and efficient police service. As in Great Britain, the
Chief Constable is responsible for the control and direction of this force,
the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), which has a strength of some 8,250 men
and women. Ranks, conditions of service, pay and general duties follow closely
those in Great Britain. The RUC is aided by the Royal Ulster Constabulary
Reserve, a largely part-time body of nearly 4,600 men and women.

     An Independent Commission for Police Complaints, which replaced the
Police Complaints Board in 1988, receives copies of all complaints made by
members of the public against police officers. The Commission is required to
supervise the police investigation of the more serious complaints and, at its
discretion, of any other complaint against a police officer. At the end of any
investigation it supervises the Commission must state whether or not it is
satisfied with the way the investigation has been carried out. In addition, if
the Commission disagrees with a decision of the Chief Constable not to take
disciplinary action in respect of any complaints, it may direct that such
action be taken.

     Complaints about the conduct of the armed forces are investigated by the
police and a report submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions: in the
absence of criminal proceedings the Army authorities may take disciplinary
action.

Representation in the United Kingdom Parliament

     Northern Ireland elects 17 of the 650 members of the United Kingdom House
of Commons. At the last general election in June 1987 the 17 seats were
distributed between the parties as follows: Ulster Unionist 9, Democratic
Unionist 3, Ulster Popular Unionist 1, Social Democratic and Labour 3 and
Sinn Fein 1. The Alliance Party, set up to offer an alternative to Unionist
and Nationalist parties, received 10 per cent of the Northern Ireland vote in
the 1987 general election but failed to win a seat. The Sinn Fein member,
Mr Gerry Adams, has not taken his seat.

     The leader of the Ulster Unionists is the Rt Hon James Molyneaux, MP,
and the leader of the Democratic Unionists is the Reverend Ian Paisley, MP.
Mr John Hume, MP, is leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party.

     Three of the 81 United Kingdom representatives in the European Parliament
were elected in Northern Ireland, the voting system there being proportional
representation. At the elections held in 1979 and 1984 the Democratic
Unionists, the Social Democratic and Labour and the Ulster Unionist parties
each won one seat.

Geography

     Northern Ireland's total area is 14,120 square kilometres (5,542 square
miles) and the border with the Irish Republic is about 412 kilometres (256
miles) long. At its nearest point to Great Britain it is only 21 kilometres
(13 miles) from Scotland across the narrow North Channel although the
shortest sea ferry journey from Larne to Stranraer is 61 kilometres (38
miles). The centre of the region is occupied by a depression containing Lough
Neagh which is the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles (368 square
kilometres - 142 square miles). To the north-west lie the Sperrin Mountains
with peaks above 610 metres (2,000 feet) while to the north-east lies the
Antrim Plateau which faces the North Channel in impressive cliffs. The Mourne
mountains rise sharply in the south-east where Slieve Donard, Northern
Ireland's highest peak, reaches 852 metres (2,796 feet). The lower land of
Fermanagh, Armagh and Down in the south is characterised by low whale-backed
hills - drumlins - formed during the retreat of the Ice Age glaciers. Valleys
leading out from the Lough Neagh depression form important routes on which
many of the principal towns lie. These include the valley of the river Lagan
which runs eastwards and on which stands Belfast at the head of Belfast Lough.
The climate is mild and temperate with annual rainfall ranging from about
1,100 millimetres (43 inches) in the upland areas to 850 millimetres (33
inches) in the Lough Neagh Basin.

     One-third of the population lives in and around the capital, Belfast,
which is also the principal port and industrial and commercial centre. The
administrative district of Belfast has an estimated 1986 population of
303,600; that of Londonderry - Northern Ireland's second city - some 95,700
and that of Craigavon 76,100.

Public Expenditure

     The general principle underlying Northern Ireland's financial relations
with the rest of the country is that it has parity, both of taxation and
services, with England, Scotland and Wales. Because of a relative lack of
resources, public expenditure in Northern Ireland, as in other depressed
regions of the United Kingdom, is partly financed by transfers from the more
prosperous regions. In order to maintain public services at the level of
those elsewhere in the United Kingdom a subvention of 1,569 million Pounds
was made in 1987-88 by the United Kingdom Parliament. In recognition of the
special needs of Northern Ireland the level of public expenditure per head
there is considerably higher than in the United Kingdom as a whole. Total
public expenditure in 1988-89 on services for which the Secretary of State
for Northern Ireland is responsible is estimated at 5,144 million Pounds.

     Despite the progress made in reducing the difference in living standards
between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland
is still one of the poorer regions of the European Community. In 1986-87
grants from the Community's Social and Regional Development Funds and from the
guidance section of its Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund amounted to
a total of 86 million Pounds.

The Economy

     Northern Ireland's geographical position on the western edge of Europe,
its trade links with Great Britain and Europe and the natural development of
Belfast as a port historically favoured the concentration of industry and
population on the eastern seaboard of the province. Even today most of
Northern Ireland's trade is with or through Great Britain. With certain
exceptions the parts of the region beyond the immediate influence of the
industrial area around Belfast have stayed mainly rural, with generally small
and often scattered communities relying largely on farming.

     Until recently Northern Ireland was regarded as being endowed with few
natural resources, its major energy sources, coal and oil, having to be
imported. Recently, however, large-scale lignite deposits have been discovered
and ways of exploiting this resource to achieve maximum benefit for the
province are currently being examined.

     Historically, much of the nineteenth-and early twentieth-century growth
of the economy derived from the linen and shipbuilding industries supported
by a large agricultural sector. Since the mid-1950s major changes have taken
place resulting in a more diversified industrial structure. More recently, the
international recession at the beginning of the 1980s has brought about
extensive restructuring throughout the manufacturing sector accompanied by
falling employment. The fall in manufacturing employment has, however, been
partially offset by the relative buoyancy of employment in the service sector
(especially in public services) and a combination of commercial and public
sector investment has restored and transformed the Victorian regional capital,
Belfast, into a thriving and attractive urban centre. More generally, there
has been a high level of public investment in ports, power stations and the
transport system. An extensive programme of modernisation and expansion has
meant that Belfast International Airport is now among the busiest of the
United Kingdom's regional airports.

     Output and income per head of population in Northern Ireland have tended
historically to lag behind other parts of the United Kingdom. In part this
has been attributable to the predominance of traditional and declining
industries and, in part, to the relatively rapid growth in population and
labour supply by United Kingdom standards. Thus, in spite of rapid economic
growth at national level throughout the latter half of the 1980s, unemployment
at 15.9 per cent in October 1988 was almost twice the level for the United
Kingdom as a whole and higher than any other region.

Employment

     New jobs in government-sponsored industry have gone some way to replacing
jobs lost to the economy and the unemployed are encouraged to take advantage
of the wide range of training schemes open to adults and young people. These
include industrial training in 12 Government Training Centres, an Attachment
Training Scheme under which trainees are attached to firms or colleges of
further education, an entry into management training schemes for those with
appropriate qualifications and Enterprise Training Schemes for those people
planning to set up their own small businesses. Enterprise Ulster is a job
creation and training organisation which provides work for unemployed people
in community and environmental projects and the Action for Community
Employment Scheme provides employment for the long-term unemployed in projects
beneficial to the community at large. The Youth Training Programme, as in the
rest of the United Kingdom, guarantees full-time training with work experience
and further education to 16-year-old school-leavers and training opportunities
for those 17-year-olds who do not find a job. The Community Volunteering
Scheme assists unemployed people wishing to do voluntary work to do so
without losing entitlement to social security benefit.

     Northern Ireland has a good record of industrial relations, and
productivity is higher than in the United Kingdom as a whole.

Industry

     The Government has given priority to assisting existing industry to
expand and to attracting firms from Great Britain and overseas to become
established in the area. An important part of this policy has been to offer
incentives to investors which are more generous than elsewhere in the United
Kingdom and judged by many to be one of the best overall in the European
Community. The Northern Ireland Industrial Development Board is the principal
industrial promotion agency and the incentives available to investors include
tax and rates relief, grants towards the cost of buildings, machinery and
equipment, help with research and development costs and the provision of
factory premises. The Board also provides an advisory service, grants towards
training and market research, various forms of equity participation, and
loans and assistance to exporters. A major part of the strategy operated by
the Board is 'sectoral' development which reviews sectors of industry to
ensure that companies are maximising their potential and gaining the best
share of the market for their product. At the same time special emphasis is
being placed on the support given to companies towards improving their
marketing and for research and development. The Board owns 58 industrial
estates in all the main centres of population. In the year ended March 1988
the Board promoted some 5,300 jobs and attracted 302 million Pounds of
investment.

     An encouraging development has been the growth of small businesses,
assisted in many cases by the Local Enterprise Development Unit which promotes
the growth of jobs in manufacturing, craft and service industries employing
up to 50 people. In the year ended March 1988 the Unit promoted a record
number of new jobs (4,570), bringing the total to nearly 31,500 since it was
founded in 1971. The aim of the Unit is not only to support new businesses
but also to help strengthen and develop existing small firms. Unemployed
people are also eligible for financial assistance under the Enterprise
Allowance Scheme which is designed to encourage the unemployed to set up their
own businesses. Under the Scheme people are paid 40 Pounds a week for one year
provided they have at least 1,000 Pounds to invest in their own business.
Manufacturing industries fall into four main groups which, in order of size,
are: engineering, which includes aerospace, electrical engineering and
micro-electronics, shipbuilding and textile machinery, and such products as
turbines blades, oil-well drilling equipment and car components; food, drink
and tobacco; textiles, including the traditional linen manufacture, as well
as woollens, carpets and man-made fibres; and clothing and footwear.

     The aerospace company Short Brothers PLC - the largest manufacturing
employer in Northern Ireland with a workforce of some 7,500 - produces civil
and military aircraft, aerostructure components for major aircraft
manufacturers in the United States and Europe, and guided weapons systems. The
aircraft product range includes the SD360 commuter, the Sherpa multi-role
military transport and the Tucano basic trainer for the Royal Air Force.

     The Belfast shipbuilding and engineering works of Harland and Wolff is
Britain's largest shipyard and it operates some of the most modern equipment
in the world. Although the world recession in shipbuilding has seriously
affected the yard, its repair and conversion facilities are being promoted and
it is concentrating on the production of more specialised vessels. A
considerable number of companies have invested in Northern Ireland including
26 American-owned companies which employ over 10,000. European firms include
companies from the Federal Republic of Germany, the Netherlands, France and
Sweden. Japan is also represented.

     Among the multinational companies operating in Northern Ireland are
Du Pont (synthetic fibres), Standard Telephones and Cables, Hyster (forklift
trucks), Hughes Tools, General Motors and Ford.

     Tourism earns substantial revenue, the lakes and rivers being
particularly attractive to anglers and for sailing. Other attractions include
the many golf courses, forest parks, country parks, nature reserves and quiet
country roads. In 1987 there were 940,000 staying visitors producing revenue
of 92 million Pounds and the industry provides employment for some 9,000
people.

Agriculture and Fisheries

     Agriculture is still the single most important industry, employing 8 per
cent of the workforce - over three times the sector's relative importance in
the United Kingdom as a whole. An additional 3 per cent are employed in
industries ancillary to agriculture. Farming is predominantly livestock-based
with arable crops - chiefly barley and potatoes - accounting for only 7 per
cent of the agricultural area. The system of tenure is almost entirely one of
owner-occupation though many farms are too small to provide full-time
employment. Alongside this pattern of ownership is the practice of 'conacre'
whereby farmers not wishing to farm all their land let it seasonally to
others. There are about 24,000 farms with businesses of significant size.
Their average area is 31 hectares (77 acres) - just over half the average for
the United Kingdom as a whole. In addition, there are some 18,000 very small
units, many entirely let in conacre. Farming is highly mechanised.

     The number of holdings has fallen by about 15,000 since the early 1960s
as smaller uneconomic holdings have been combined with larger ones. At the
same time the type of farming has become more specialised. Over half the farms
are engaged mainly in beef or sheep production with just under 30 per cent
primarily dairying. Livestock and livestock products make up about 85 per cent
of agricultural output. Approximately 60 per cent of total agricultural
production is sold outside Northern Ireland, chiefly in Great Britain and the
Irish Republic. The province supplies about 25 per cent of the bacon, 14 per
cent of the fat cattle, 7 per cent of the eggs and 14 per cent of the seed
potatoes produced in the United Kingdom. The health record of farm animals in
Northern Ireland is among the best in the world.

     Agricultural support is primarily organised on the basis of a number of
schemes applicable throughout the United Kingdom. Other support measures for
the development of agriculture, forestry, drainage and fisheries are managed
by the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture. Several additional schemes,
which are either partly or wholly financed by the European Community for the
improvement of agricultural efficiency, have also been introduced, including
a programme to assist farmers in the less-favoured areas.

     The three principal fishing ports are in the south-east of the province
and the main species caught are whiting, prawns, cod and herring. Fishing is
mainly undertaken by trawlers operating in the Irish Sea and improved
electronic aids in recent years have led to higher catches. There are valuable
commercial salmon fisheries in the tidal stretches of the rivers Foyle and
Bann and in adjacent coastal areas. Recent developments have been the increase
in trout farming - 16 farms are in operation - and the introduction of
commercial oyster farming in Strangford Lough and Lough Foyle.