Debate contribution: Dual Market Access

Debate contribution by Mr David Honeyford on 18 June 2024.

MLA

Mr David Honeyford

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

18 June 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Opposition Business

Heading

Dual Market Access

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4496940

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I recently wrote an Alliance Party opinion piece that was published in the 'The Irish News' that laid out Alliance's position on working to rebalance the economy across this island and within these islands. It referenced collaboration between Invest NI and the IDA, so I thank the SDLP for bringing forward a lot of what I have previously said. Sinéad McLaughlin and I, as with the DUP and Sinn Féin members of the Economy Committee, are often very much on the same page, and I look forward to continuing those close working relationships as we look to grow and better our economy. It is so positive when we speak collectively on the issues, but it is absolutely disappointing — there must be an election on the go or something — that we have the DUP's position today. However, the public see through that and will expect us to get back to normal after recess and to having a working collaboration between everybody in order to better this place. I said in the Platform piece that I wrote that, "It's the economy, stupid", which was the famous catchphrase from the 1992 presidential election. The question was this:

“'Change? or More of the same?'”

As our economic performance remains stubbornly well behind that of the rest of the UK and absolutely miles behind that of the South, change is the only option that we have in Northern Ireland. More of the same is just no longer sustainable.

Yes, sure.

Absolutely.

I welcome the intervention. A lot of what has been said from the DUP Benches was completely not reality. Business has been leading change, and trade across to GB has increased. Off the top of my head, I cannot remember the figure, but it is in tens of per cents; it is not a little amount. The trade deficit is decreasing, and our growth is rising, and that is to be welcomed. Change is our only option. Our economy has been in deficit since the 1930s and remains heavily reliant on the public sector, and that is unsustainable. Our population is suffering under the resultant squeeze, and that has been brought into sharp focus with the Treasury's below-need funding of Northern Ireland. We can no longer afford to view our economy as a side issue. Our economy is central to creating the future that we all want to see. It affects job opportunities, salary levels and the amount of money that the public have in their pockets at the end of a week. It is our mortgage payments, rent, energy costs and the cost of fuel for our cars and to heat our homes. Our economic success is also central to improving and reforming our public-sector services, and at times we do not help ourselves by not getting on with transformation in some of the larger Departments. As I have said several times in the Chamber, Alliance welcomes dual market access for goods, but, ultimately, that is second best to what we had as a full member of the EU, and Alliance regrets that we do not have the full benefits of EU membership, which include freedom of services, capital and movement of people. As a pro-European party, we want to be back in the EU. I have also said several times that we must get moving with dual market access. We must maximise that opportunity and use it to turn our economy around. There is no point in having an opportunity while sitting back and looking at it or, even worse, continuing to walk up a cul-de-sac and argue about the past. We just need to get on with it and stop wasting time. As with many strategies that come through the House, it can be seen mistakenly that the strategy or agreement is the end goal rather than the starting point. We need to get off the starting line and aim for a future that we want to see. It is time to increase our efforts and our focus and to strive for better.

Alliance aspires to enhance North/South economic cooperation, bringing shared economic opportunity across the island of Ireland, alongside continuing to support our trade with GB, which remains our largest trading partner. Our business community is already leading that economic change. Alliance has put forward proposals to focus and grow our foreign direct investment, but Invest NI should be working in partnership with IDA Ireland. The focus should be on attracting investment north of the border, not on trying to compete with IDA Ireland; on marketing ourselves to the world, much as we already do in tourism; on selling the benefits of investing in the North; and on prioritising working together to deliver jobs, increase our standard of living, increase investment here and, ultimately, raise our GDP.

The motion does not mention infrastructure, but infrastructure is essential to driving our economic growth. Alliance believes that we need to better connect North and South for the mutual benefit of every one of us. We need a focus on collaboration and connectivity, including fast railways, the A1 and A5 road upgrades and upgraded road and rail connections to our international airport to deliver higher passenger numbers and attract new European, American and international connections. That would all help to reposition and focus our economic growth towards the North. If we are to fully exploit dual market access, it is essential that we focus on delivery and focus on it now. That requires more than words; it needs actions.

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

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:37 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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