ABSTRACT
Segregated housing and education remain entrenched, causing the two communities to be cocooned from each other. Uncomfortable levels of sectarianism still pervade life in the region. The Belfast Agreement signed in 1998 is responsible for the emergence of a new, peaceful Northern Ireland. Considerable discussion has taken place about the exact legal nature of the Belfast Agreement. Sharp deindustrialization and a massive growth in the public sector were two standout features of the Northern Ireland economy during the conflict years. In the 1960s, before the outbreak of violence, the region had a fairly dynamic manufacturing base, with industrial production growing much faster than in the United Kingdom (UK) as a whole. The sharp contraction in the region’s manufacturing base was accompanied by a rapid growth in service sector activity, the lion’s share of it being in the public sector. Successive British Governments approached the contentious matter of labour market discrimination against Catholics in a more calculating way.
