First convened by the Border People project in Spring 2020, the Cross-Border Practitioners’ Group provides a platform for local advice and citizens information services to discuss topics and share information relevant to people living and or working across the border.

For example, a person living in Armagh and working in Monaghan might need information about where and how to claim illness benefit in the event that they’re too ill to go to work. 

Unfortunately cross-border queries can quickly become complicated, so members meet monthly and often collaborate on complex cases.  A significant amount of cross-border knowledge sharing takes place, with referrals between the organisations, and between the jurisdictions, commonplace.

It’s a unique group and a great example of cross-border cooperation in action, all based upon the real-lived experience of people living in and between the jurisdictions.

Current collaboration includes analysing the cross-border impact of new case law that sets out which jurisdiction is competent for sickness payments for frontier workers and their dependents. As a result two new pages have recently been added to the website –

• Sickness Benefits – Competent State for frontier workers (Irish Invalidity Pension and UK Personal Independence Payment)
• Sickness Benefits – Competent State issues for dependents of frontier workers (Child Disability Living Allowance)

The Group is going from strength to strength and membership, which is largely from within the community and voluntary sectors, north and south.

Membership includes:

• Advice NI
• Border People (Centre for Cross Border Studies)
• Community Advice, Fermanagh
• Community Advice, Newry, Mourne and Down
• Cross Border Solutions
• Cross Border Partnership Employment Services
• Family Benefits Advice Service of Employers For Childcare
• North Connacht & Ulster Citizens Information Service – especially Co. Monaghan Citizens Information Services and Co. Donegal Citizens Information Services

Further members will be listed here shortly.