Le: Aire Gnóthaí Eachtracha; Micheál Martin
Foilsithe
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Good evening.
I want to welcome you all to Iveagh House, headquarters of our Department of Foreign Affairs for the launch of Trade NI’s report on the Prosperity Dividend in Northern Ireland.
Let me start by congratulating Colin [Neill], Glyn [Roberts], and Stephen [Kelly] on the publication of the report. I was very pleased to host them in the Taoiseach’s office, back during the COVID-19 pandemic, when it quickly became very clear to me that these were three individuals and three organisations that were fully engaged in the big challenges facing their region and fully committed to playing a constructive role in meeting those challenges.
This report is concrete evidence of that, and is I think a very valuable contribution to understanding and promoting the economy in Northern Ireland.
I’d also like to acknowledge Brian (Murphy) from BDO and thank him for his work on the report.
This document not only shows just how far Northern Ireland has come over the past twenty-five years – it also sets out an ambitious vision for increased economic growth and prosperity in the coming years.
As we reflect on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, much of our focus has been – rightly – on how the Agreement allowed us to break the cycle of violence in Northern Ireland.
But it is important too that we take a broader view and celebrate all of the other achievements that have flowed from the Agreement.
This includes the economic dividends of peace, which have transformed Northern Ireland into an ever more attractive place to live, to visit and to do business.
I know that the business community – including many of you here today – have played a central role in bringing about this transformation.
The Good Friday Agreement has also facilitated the development of the all-island economy, which both supports and is supported by the peace process.
Today, cross-border trade in goods and services is estimated at almost ten billion Euro. Our supply chains are integrated like never before – particularly in food and beverage, pharma, and manufacturing. The Republic is often the first export market for businesses wishing to expand and is the North’s largest export market.
Many of Northern Ireland’s strengths identified in this report are also central to our all-island economy. This includes our world-leading tourism offering, the strong performance of the island’s screen industry, and our combined ability to attract foreign direct investment.
Our success in these areas should push us to do much more together, to fully realise our shared island’s economic potential.
Improving connectivity and educational opportunity is central to economic development and plays a direct role in stimulating the economy, attracting investment, and creating jobs.
This is why, through the Shared Island Initiative that I established when I became Taoiseach, we are strengthening cross-border infrastructure and investing in innovation, research, and skills.
Our goal is to create a more connected, sustainable, and more prosperous island, which understands itself better, for the benefit all communities.
For example, we have committed to, and are currently out to tender for construction of the landmark Narrow Water Bridge.
More than €50 million has gone into a whole host of research programmes across the island, and most recently, we allocated €44.5 million from our Shared Island Fund to expand Ulster University’s Derry campus, which is a signal of our strong commitment to all-island education.
I share this report’s optimism about Northern Ireland’s unique economic position under the Windsor Framework. The Irish Government is committed to helping Northern Ireland take full advantage of the opportunities arising from its access to both EU and UK markets.
I want to commend the NI business community, and in this context I want to particularly acknowledge Stephen, Colin and Glynn, for playing such an active and positive role in discussions with the EU and the UK, to ensure that Northern Ireland’s voice was heard.
The Windsor Framework is the result of sustained engagement by people and businesses from across Northern Ireland and responds directly to concerns raised.
All of your input will remain key in the period ahead as implementation of the Framework begins in October.
With the Windsor Framework in place, we want to work together – North South, East West, and with our international partners – to promote Northern Ireland as an attractive place to invest and to do business.
However, ongoing political uncertainty makes this a significantly more challenging task. Without local political leadership and the restoration of the Assembly, the Executive and the North South Ministerial Council, Northern Ireland cannot fully benefit from the opportunities in front of it.
Key decisions around prioritisation of resources and investment in key infrastructure like water and wastewater, transport, energy, are inevitably delayed; in turn holding up subsequent investment and development decisions.
These institutions need to be reinstated, without further delay.
It is welcome that this paper reflects on the economic success of the peace process. But it also challenges us all to think collectively about what more we can do together to secure a better, more prosperous future for Northern Ireland and its people.
I want to see this whole island prosper. My firm view is that increased economic prosperity anywhere on this island benefits us all and threatens nobody.
Finally, I want to assure Trade NI, its members, and its partners that the Irish Government is with you as you push forward with Northern Ireland’s prosperity agenda. My door, the government’s door, is always open.
I look forward to continuing to work with all you to support peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland in the years ahead, unlocking the full and enormous potential of this fantastic place.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh.