Debate contribution: Programme for Government 2024-27

Debate contribution by Mr David Honeyford on 3 March 2025.

MLA

Mr David Honeyford

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

3 March 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Executive Committee Business

Heading

Programme for Government 2024-27

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4826357

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I speak as the Alliance spokesperson for the economy and welcome the fact that we have a Programme for Government that seeks to show a path forward that is positive and much-needed. However, any programme is only as good as the ambition and the focus on delivery. We now need to get on with delivering for our economy. It is on that detail that I want to raise a couple of points. The fundamental truth is that our economy is not growing at any acceptable pace, and that has been an issue for decades. We are not closing the gap between here and GB, and the gap continues to widen between here and the South. We need to address the fundamental reason why that is the case. I appreciate that the Minister has launched an economic vision that intends to bring through good jobs, decarbonisation and productivity, for example. While I share that ambition for the creation of good jobs, Northern Ireland will continue to struggle to attract inward investment without political stability and political direction to create the conditions on which business can be built. Businesses, whether local start-ups, indigenous businesses or international firms looking to invest here, all need certainty. Yet, by not confronting reform head-on, we continue to dangle potential instability. We need political reform not as some abstract ideal but as a practical necessity to unlock potential, which is the bedrock, along with stability, for us to grow our economy.

I will move on to speak about the decarbonisation of our economy, which is one of the Minister’s core principles. I completely agree with the principle, but we need much more than just principle: if things are to change, we need delivery, and the devil will be in the detail. We hear a lot about "80 by 30", but it is not just a slogan; it is about having 80% renewable energy by 2030. That is only five years away, and we have been here for a year. We need to get moving if we are to bring all the benefits: not just environmental benefits but energy security and reduced costs for every household. We have the ability to generate home-grown electricity so that we never have the massive increased cost of electricity, caused by the cost of fossil fuel imports, that all our constituents have had to suffer from in the past couple of years. Renewable energy growth has stalled at approximately 45%. If we do not have a renewable energy support scheme that supports the ambition of "80 by 30", we will not see the growth that we need. When we have one energy system across the island, any scheme must match the entry levels in the South. It has to be based on encouraging our local renewable companies to grow and not creating further barriers for them. Without that, investment will continue to simply move to the South or to Scotland, where conditions are easier and support is better. From a Lagan Valley perspective, there is a lot of potential to grow jobs in the Dublin-Belfast economic corridor. There was a conference on that last week, which was really welcome. There is so much untapped potential there, staring us in the face, to work together to maximise economic growth. I look forward to working with the Minister to deliver positive outcomes on that. Another issue that we need to move on — it is disappointing that this is not mentioned in the PFG — is the Maze/Long Kesh site. We have momentum, and we need it. We do not need more delay. Developing the road infrastructure around that site and linking it to the M1/A1 is a vital way of improving the access and starting to build momentum for that site. I hope that the First Minister and deputy First Minister can agree to move on that as soon as possible. Maybe they can update us on that in the winding-up speech. Our unique selling point for inward investment is as a place that has access to both GB and EU markets for doing business. We need to sell that dual market access around the world. It is welcome that there is a commitment in the Programme for Government that Invest NI will undertake three promotional trips for investors. If, however, an investor simply goes to Invest NI's home page and clicks on "Why choose Northern Ireland?", the next page leads with the statement:

"Northern Ireland is an integral part of the United Kingdom"

rather than a statement about the trade advantage that we have with our dual market access. It is baffling that we do not lead with that, shouting about it from every platform. The Programme for Government barely mentions it. If we do not champion that dual market access, we will not gain from it. It is as simple as that. I will touch, finally, on three areas that are critical to growing jobs and our economy and on which we look forward to clarity coming through. Research and development is the engine of innovation. Why should businesses come here if we are not prepared to invest in it, creating opportunities for ourselves? If our universities do not get investment for R&D, we will not have spin-off companies such as B-Secur, which has 57 highly skilled jobs and which developed the intellectual property for heart monitors in watches and other devices, in Belfast in the future. Also, childcare is not just a social good; it is an economic lever. Parents cannot work if childcare is unaffordable or inaccessible. That needs to be expanded on further, although I appreciate that the First Minister developed it a little bit earlier. On planning reform, we all know that the current system is a bottleneck, holding back housing, infrastructure and business investment. The Alliance Party has been consistent on those three points, but our economy needs specifics and action on planning reform to come through quickly. If we do not address the planning system and tackle waste water infrastructure, economic investment will continue to move to the South, as that infrastructure is unavailable here. That is essential to unlocking our economic growth. It is time to work to create conditions in which our businesses and our economy can flourish and grow. I support the overall economic aims of the Programme for Government, but potential alone is not enough to make a difference. As Alliance spokesperson for the economy, I look forward to working with the Minister for the Economy and other Ministers to deliver for our constituents. I look forward to seeing legislation coming through to help deliver that.

1,105 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:07 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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