Debate contribution: Regional Balance Bill: Second Stage

Debate contribution by Ms Diana Armstrong on 8 September 2026.

MLA: Ms Diana Armstrong
Party at the time: Ulster Unionist Party
Date: 8 September 2026
Type: Debate contribution
Business: Private Members' Business
Heading: Regional Balance Bill: Second Stage
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5674445

Text

I welcome the opportunity to support the Regional Balance Bill progressing to Committee Stage. I begin by acknowledging the work of the Bill sponsor, Sinéad McLaughlin MLA, in presenting the Bill today. Sinéad has been a consistent and persistent voice in pursuit of greater regional balance across Northern Ireland, and it is great to see her fearlessness here today. Regardless of where Members may ultimately stand on the detail of the Bill, Sinéad deserves credit for ensuring that this important issue remains firmly on the political agenda, particularly for those of us from peripheral rural communities. For too long, many rural and regional communities have felt that opportunities, investment and economic growth are overly concentrated in a small number of locations. While investment in the larger conurbations is purely related to scale and the availability of skills, every region should celebrate success where that can happen.
We must also recognise that sustainable prosperity requires a better balance in the distribution of jobs, infrastructure, public services and economic opportunity. That is particularly important for constituencies such as mine, Fermanagh and South Tyrone. We are fortunate to have outstanding schools, further education colleges and training providers that equip our young people with the skills, qualifications and ambition to succeed, yet, too often, those same young people feel compelled to leave their local area because suitable employment opportunities are simply not available to them close to home. I have heard other Members raise that particular issue. We should aspire to create a Northern Ireland in which young people have a genuine choice. Sinéad talked about unlocking potential. Young people should be free to pursue careers in Belfast, Derry, Dublin, London or wherever their ambitions take them. Equally, they should be able to return home to their communities if they wish, confident that high-quality jobs and career opportunities also exist there. Achieving better regional balance is not solely an economic objective but about protecting the long-term viability of rural communities. When employment opportunities are concentrated elsewhere, communities can experience population decline, pressures on local services, difficulties with sustaining businesses and challenges with retaining the next generation of families and workers.
Certainly.

357 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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