Northern Ireland’s political leaders joined several hundred business chiefs and other stakeholders on Friday at the CBI’s NI annual business breakfast at Belfast City Hall. There was great energy in the room, and it was fantastic to think that everyone attending the breakfast were rooting for the Northern Ireland economy and every attendee was determined to play their own unique part in making it a success.
The theme was ‘collaboration’, and chief executives from various sectors listened to First Minister Michelle O’Neill and deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly as they reiterated their commitment to working together to create a competitive economy for all, build strong partnerships with business and deliver co-designed solutions to any barriers to growth.
CBI chair Richard Gillan reflected on the positive impact of a restored Executive. Given the horrendous events unfolding in the Middle East right now, we in Northern Ireland are reminded just how grateful we must be to have political leaders who are prepared to come together to collaborate and work with each other respectively for the greater good.
That political stability and co-operation has restored our reputation at a national and global level and will undoubtedly have a multiplier effect not just on investment and economic growth – but on the quality of life of future generations. The impact of positive political collaboration was not lost on anyone in the City Hall last Friday.
There is no doubt that the business community is more than happy to step up and partner with government on delivering sustainable economic growth and finding solutions to the barriers that dampen investment - such as improving the planning process and delivering the technological solutions and digital transformation needed to deliver better public services.
A great example of business stepping up to deliver government’s ambition to decarbonise was set out by NIE Network’s chair Sir David Sterling, who told the audience how the cpmpany is at the start of a massive investment period that will rebuild the north’s electricity network and provide the levels of capacity and reliability needed for a vibrant economy and realisation of net zero targets.
NIE Networks were a strategic partner at Friday’s breakfast, and Sir David committed to deep collaboration with the local business community and policy makers. The company is determined to fully understand and deliver the economy’s future energy requirements and facilitate the decarbonisation journey that we have all committed to.
Maxol Group and Eir Evo, corporate sponsors of last week’s event, are further great examples of companies committed to working collaboratively to exploit opportunities in areas that will make our economy much more sustainable and competitive. Maxol Group has been a huge investor in ultra rapid EV hubs to support electric vehicle infrastructure while Eir Evo has invested heavily in ICT/ technology solutions to support both the public and private sector when it comes to connectivity, cyber security, and infrastructure solutions.
The theme of collaboration did not stop there. Not only should government and business be collaborating – but so too should our governments across the UK and Ireland.
To draw out the importance of building collaborative relationships between the governments across the British-Irish isles, I chaired a short discussion with CBI’s UK chair Rupert Soames and Danny McCoy, chief executive of Ibec, the Irish Business and Employer’s Federation.
During the panel discussion the audience heard Danny and Rupert reflect on recent economic trends for the respective economies and discuss how better collaboration between the two governments would be hugely beneficial for the business communities on both islands.
Both acknowledged that there are obvious areas for good co-operation, in matters such as energy, decarbonisation, trade, food security, tourism, connectivity and investment.
Mr Soames reflected on his attendance the previous weekend at the International Investment Conference and welcomed the UK government’s determination to send out a message of stability to international investors.
He also noted that in the first 100 days of the Labour government, several measures to support UK scale-ups have been introduced, including the announcement of a Regulatory Innovation Office and the new National Wealth Fund. But there’s more work left to be done.
As CBI UK chair, he is calling on the government to use the Pensions Schemes Bill to unlock investment into scale-ups. At the moment, our pension funds are not investing enough in the high-growth firms here in the UK.
That, he said, needs to change. We also need to ensure that innovative company ambitions are not stifled by complex regulations that put a brake on progress.
Danny McCoy talked about Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s recent visit to Dublin, where Danny led a business delegation to meet him. He noted that both the PM and Taoiseach Simon Harris are personally committed to a bold reset of UK-Ireland relations as co-guarantors of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.
Business, he argued, must now build on that renewed ambition to go further on trade and investment, driving growth and fostering cooperation on shared challenges such as climate, energy, technology, and innovation.
He also noted that there are significant opportunities for economic prosperity across the UK, Ireland and Northern Ireland if we can capitalise on the potential of the all-Island economy.
Both the UK CBI chair and Ibec CEO agreed that, as the two largest business lobby organisations, they have a responsibility to collaborate on the issues that matter and bring a joint business voice to political leaders across the British-Irish Isles.
- Angela McGowan is director of CBI Northern Ireland
