Debate contribution: British-Irish Council: Forty-first Summit

Debate contribution by Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly on 2 July 2024.

MLA

Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

2 July 2024

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Ministerial Statements

Heading

British-Irish Council: Forty-first Summit

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4528669

Read the official Assembly record

Text

The forty-first summit of the British-Irish Council (BIC) took place on 21 June 2024 and was hosted by the Isle of Man Government. The heads of delegation were welcomed by the Isle of Man Government’s Chief Minister, Alfred Cannan MHK. I attended the summit with junior Minister Aisling Reilly and the Minister for the Economy, Conor Murphy. The First Minister was unable to travel but participated via a meeting weblink. The Ministers agreed that I should make the statement on their behalf. The Scottish Government delegation was led by the First Minister, John Swinney MSP. The UK Government delegation was led by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the Rt Hon Chris Heaton-Harris. The Welsh Government delegation was led by Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Welsh Language, Jeremy Miles MS. The Government of Guernsey delegation was led by the Chief Minister, Deputy Lyndon Trott. The Government of Jersey delegation was led by the Chief Minister, Deputy Lyndon Farnham. The Irish Government delegation was led by the Taoiseach, Simon Harris TD. A full list of the principal delegates is attached to the copy of the statement that has been provided to Members. This was the first summit meeting of the British-Irish Council that had been attended by Ministers of the Northern Ireland Executive since 2021. We were warmly welcomed by the representatives of the other Governments. In what is the 25th anniversary year of the Council's establishment, all Governments reaffirmed their commitment to the Council and emphasised its value and importance as a forum for the exchange of information and ideas. As is customary, the summit opened with reflections on the latest political, social and economic developments across each jurisdiction. Members will not be surprised to learn that the Governments are grappling with many of the same problems and challenges, including the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on their communities and constraints on the funding needed to tackle those issues. We took the opportunity to outline what our key priorities have been since the resumption of our Government in February, including working to establish a sound fiscal framework and the need for transformation of public services. The theme of the summit was "Unlocking the economic and social opportunities of renewables across these islands".

The Isle of Man Government had earlier given a presentation on the progress that they are making in transitioning to renewable energy. The Council discussed the initiatives taking place and best practice across Administrations to support the shift from fossil fuel, ranging from decarbonisation of heat to harnessing new and emerging technologies. British-Irish Council Administrations are collectively at the international forefront of renewables, and Northern Ireland is certainly playing its part in that. Earlier this year, the Council's energy work sector, comprising officials from across all Administrations, visited Northern Ireland to see for itself the fantastic work happening here. In discussion, the employment opportunities that greener energy supports were highlighted, as well as the positive environmental impacts and wider associated health benefits of renewables. Of particular note are cleaner air and the contribution of carbon reduction to the sustainability of our planet. Equally, we recognised the need to engage with and enlist the support of stakeholders in the development of our strategies. We all agreed on the importance of enhanced cooperation and sharing learning between Governments so that we can face the challenges and realise the potential and ambition in unlocking the economic and social opportunities of renewables across these islands. Finally, the Council noted that the next BIC summit will be hosted by the Government of Scotland in December. That concludes our statement.

Yes, of course, there is a drive across all the Departments in government because of the targets set down but also because of a collective willingness and a recognition of the importance of the measures. There is a process in place, which the Member will be aware of, and those processes will have to go through appropriately. Of course, another Department is managing that, but, once we reach out to that Department, I will be more than happy to give the Member an update on the particular issues that he has raised.

I thank the Member for his question. As the Member is undoubtedly aware, eight Administrations are involved in the work of the BIC, and there are 10 work sectors, three of which Northern Ireland leads. The three that Northern Ireland leads on are transport, housing, and planning and places. The other areas are energy; early years; environment; indigenous, minority and lesser-used languages; drugs and alcohol; social inclusion; and creative industries.

I thank the Member for his question. Yes, we held two specific bilaterals with the Isle of Man, which was hosting, and we discussed a range of issues, including the developments in the Isle of Man, particularly around renewables and green technologies but also the wider issues around the Isle of Man's economy and tourism. We also held a bilateral with the First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, on a range of issues, particularly looking forward in relation to the fiscal situation and what was likely to happen in budget terms as well. Of course, those meetings provide an opportunity to have conversations with attendees and delegates, and, over a number of days, including the formal dinner that was held, I had the opportunity to engage and have significant conversations with representatives of all seven other Administrations that were present.

I thank the Member for her question. Of course, the Programme for Government has to be underpinned by a sound fiscal framework. We all know the challenges that have been articulated in this place every week since restoration and for good reason, because we are somewhat limited in what we can do if we are limited in the finances and funding that we have to do it. Nevertheless, there is some transformation that can take place. We have made the point before in the House that a Programme for Government that promises everything will be able to achieve very little.

We are very keen that the Programme for Government is targeted on some key strategic priorities where, over the next three years, we can genuinely add that value, recognising the challenges of the fiscal environment in which we operate. That has to be about driving forward some key strategic initiatives, including affordable childcare, which we have referenced. It is also about that very important transformation piece for our public services to address health, tackle waiting lists, support special educational needs and have an education system that works for everybody. Those are key priorities for the Executive, and that will require transformation.

I thank the Member for his question. There are many opportunities here in Northern Ireland. We have had the announcement from the East-West Council on the enhanced investment zone. That is at a very early stage, but it provides the opportunity to shape that to what we want it to be. I believe that that will provide opportunities to focus on emerging industries that can support good jobs, better jobs and the growth of our economy. That must mean the identification of opportunities around green tech and green growth. There are a number of other initiatives, such as the roll-out of the city deals. A number of areas are developing hubs and different initiatives in relation to the green energy space. We are leading at the moment on hydrogen. That is just one example. We have a determination to identify all the possible opportunities for growth here in Northern Ireland, and there is no doubt that green growth and green tech is one of the key industries that we will be focusing on.

I thank the Member for his question. Absolutely. Building relationships works. We are a small place, and it is in our interests to work with other jurisdictions, not least in situations where there are opportunities and challenges. At a time of challenge, when we are facing fiscal constraint, it makes absolute sense to talk to our closest neighbours, to look elsewhere to see what initiatives, projects and policies they are driving forward and what works in those jurisdictions and to bring what works there to Northern Ireland. We do not have to keep reinventing the wheel. We can look elsewhere. I often say that we can be the magpies of the policy world and look at what has worked and is suitable for here and tailor it for our particular set of circumstances. That is best done through those types of forums. There are seven other Administrations that we can listen to and learn from, and we can take forward some of the initiatives that we hear about.

Absolutely. Over recent years, more people have been engaged in that area. That is very welcome. A lot of younger people, in particular, are engaged in activism around climate change and driving forward that desire to see policy change in Governments and Administrations. I have also had the opportunity to speak to a number of councils, and it is really good to see their support for those types of initiatives and green growth, particularly under the city deal initiatives. One of the issues that we talked about at the BIC was the balance across all of that. In some quarters, there is a concern about the burden of climate change and meeting those targets disproportionately falling on particular sectors. That includes our farming and agriculture sector, which is an incredibly important sector for us here. We need to recognise that, whatever way we roll it out, it must be done in a fair and proportionate way and that no one sector disproportionately feels that burden; that we are really in this together, and we are listening to all the voices with a joint desire to reach the targets and improve the environment in which we live.

I thank the Member for her question. As I said in the statement to the House on the East-West Council, I really welcomed that addition to a number of those types of bodies that are all focused on sharing experience, building relationships and having that closer collaboration across these isles. There had been that gap, and, of course, the British-Irish Council and the North/South Ministerial Council were products of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, but there was no body that looked at internal UK relationships. I am really glad that we achieved agreement with the UK Government to establish and hold the first meeting of the East-West Council.

All of this works together. We do not want the East-West Council to duplicate any of the other work, and I am confident that it will not, but we have few enough opportunities to have genuine conversations on policy. Policy matters. How it is implemented matters. How we deliver for people matters, and talking to each other makes a lot of sense, particularly at a time of fiscal restriction and constraint.

Absolutely. Even at this meeting, where we discussed the opportunities around green growth, it was useful to hear what other jurisdictions were pursuing. One key point that came out was that we should not be competing with each other across those eight Administrations and countries. We should be working together to make sure that what we are driving for is supplementary and complementary to what is happening elsewhere. There is no point spending significant money to be in competition. One good example was the £100 voucher that we rolled out in Northern Ireland as part of our COVID recovery. That came about as a result of a discussion at the British-Irish Council with the Government of Jersey, who had rolled out a similar scheme. I know from speaking to many of our small or independent businesses and restaurants in the hospitality sector how valuable that scheme was in putting much-needed revenue into their pockets and businesses. That is a good real-world example of a scheme that was taken forward following a discussion at the British-Irish Council.

I thank the Member for his question. The Member will be aware of the very challenging nature of the targets that we set. It was this place that decided to set those targets, including an interim target in 2030 of, I think, about 48% of our energy coming from renewables. They are challenging targets but something for us to drive towards. I am pleased to say that Northern Ireland is showing a strong trajectory towards that. The percentage of electricity that we get from renewables is one of the highest in the British Isles, which gives us a good foundation to build on. There is no doubt that we have challenges. Our planning system, for example, is slow. People apply for certain things that they feel are required to meet their targets, but those things may take years to get through the system, meaning that there is, understandably, a delay in their being able to achieve what they are trying to do. Departments need to be honest about this. In the next short while, we will have to have the discussion whereby Departments ask honestly, "How achievable are the targets that are currently set out? What are the actions required to get us to that point?" Honest conversation is essential for everybody driving towards the shared objective of getting to those targets as quickly as we can.

2,219 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:49 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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