Debate contribution: North/South Ministerial Council: Trade and Business Development

Debate contribution by Dr Caoimhe Archibald on 9 February 2026.

MLA

Dr Caoimhe Archibald

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

9 February 2026

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Ministerial Statements

Heading

North/South Ministerial Council: Trade and Business Development

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5369082

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I apologise for the fact that Members did not receive the statement on time. It was an administrative error; apologies for that. With your permission, Mr Deputy Speaker, I wish to make a statement in compliance with section 52 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 regarding a meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) in trade and business development sectoral format. The meeting was held in Armagh on 28 January 2026. Minister Gordon Lyons MLA and I represented the Executive. The Irish Government were represented by Peter Burke TD, Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, who chaired the meeting. The statement has been agreed with Minister Lyons, and I am making it on behalf of us both. Ministers welcomed the overall achievements of InterTradeIreland since the previous sectoral meeting in April 2025, including its exceeding its target of over 55,000 businesses benefiting from trade supports by the end of October 2025. The NSMC acknowledged the contribution that InterTradeIreland has made for small and medium-sized companies through its trade and development programmes such as the launch of the Trade Missions @ Home programme, which supported 40 businesses. The NSMC noted the ongoing achievement of InterTradeIreland's innovation and entrepreneurship schemes, such as a 20% increase in applications for Innovation Boost in 2025, and support for University College Dublin and Queen's University Belfast, through its Synergy programme to create a formal cluster framework that is focused on the oncology and allied digital health sectors. The North/South Ministerial Council commended the work of InterTradeIreland, alongside that of Enterprise Ireland and Invest NI, in hosting the twenty-eighth TCI global conference in Dublin in October 2025, bringing together over 230 delegates from more than 25 countries, including world-leading cluster experts, policymakers and business leaders. Ministers noted at the plenary meetings in June and October 2025 that the Council had agreed that relevant NSMC sectors should continue to consider how agreed collaborative approaches can contribute to economic growth. The NSMC noted the work of InterTradeIreland to support economic growth in both jurisdictions, including through driving cross-border collaboration, supporting SMEs and innovation, and facilitating trade and market access. The Council agreed that officials in InterTradeIreland will continue to collaborate on those matters, and an update will be provided to the next meeting in that sector. The NSMC approved the InterTradeIreland 2026 business plan and recommended the budget/grant provision. The Council also approved the InterTradeIreland 2026-28 corporate plan. Ministers noted that InterTradeIreland's annual report and accounts for 2024 are being finalised and will be brought to the next meeting for noting. The Ministers welcomed presentations from two businesses on the benefits of InterTradeIreland's programme of supports. They also welcomed a presentation on how InterTradeIreland's Synergy programme is supporting University College Dublin and Queen's University Belfast to create a formal cluster framework for the oncology and allied digital heath sectors. The NSMC noted the work being done by InterTradeIreland in running successful programmes of support for small businesses. The Council approved a number of appointments to the boards of InterTradeIreland and the Loughs Agency. The Council agreed to hold its next NSMC trade and business development meeting in spring 2026. I commend the statement to the Assembly and welcome questions.

Thank you, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

I will endeavour to ensure that the Member is furnished with some of the information to which she referred. We received a presentation from InterTradeIreland at the NSMC, and I will see whether that is available for sharing. I should also say that we had the opportunity to hear from businesses that had received support from InterTradeIreland about the direct impact that that has had on them. It is clear that the support is effective in helping businesses to grow and take on new workers. Both businesses that presented to the NSMC spoke very highly of how the programmes had helped them to focus on growth. In the past year, I have also had the opportunity to attend one of the Trade Missions @ Home programmes to see the type of support that is provided to businesses. It is clear that it is beneficial in opening up opportunities and new markets for them. I am clear about the benefits of the support that businesses get from InterTradeIreland, and I am happy to furnish the Member with additional information.

I thank the Member for her question. Women's entrepreneurship is one of the important new programmes that InterTradeIreland supports through the Shared Island enterprise scheme. It equips women with new opportunities through business support. There was a recent boost to women's entrepreneurship work in the North with last month's launch of a trio of programmes from InterTradeIreland, in partnership with Invest NI and Enterprise Ireland, which will enable participants to gain access to expert mentorship, tailored support workshops and networking opportunities that will accelerate their business growth. The three new women's entrepreneurship programmes supported by the Shared Island enterprise scheme are WeBuild, which is a tech programme that is designed to empower women entrepreneurs to accelerate tech-driven business ideas and develop tech-enabled ventures focused on innovation, AI learning and building strong future-ready businesses, and is delivered by TechFoundHer; WeGrow, which is a growth programme for established women-led SMEs that aim for growth and expansion across the island and seek to reflect on their business potential and is delivered by Women in Business NI and Network Ireland; and WeScale, which is a scaling programme dedicated to empowering women entrepreneurs to scale strategically and sustainably, blending world-class learning, bespoke mentoring and investor access. WeScale is delivered by AwakenHub, which, as Members may be aware, recently undertook a trade mission in the US.

I thank the Member for his question on the structures on which Intertrade UK and Invest NI are represented. I have not yet had the opportunity to engage with Intertrade UK, but I am open to trying to support businesses to navigate frictions that have resulted from Brexit. I am willing to engage in any format to enable that.

I thank the Member for his question. As he will be aware, cross-border trade figures have significantly increased over the past number of years. The latest figure that we have, which was for 2023, sat at €15 billion or £12 billion. There has been a considerable increase. We need to look at how we can support businesses further to take up those opportunities.

A key thing that InterTradeIreland highlights is that, for SMEs, exporting and trading across the border, as well as engaging in east-west trading, are often the first steps to wider exporting. We clearly want to support that. I am happy to ask InterTradeIreland whether additional data or information on dual market access can be shared with the Economy Committee in particular.

I thank the Member for that question. Targets are set in the corporate plan and business plan for the number of businesses to be supported. InterTradeIreland has exceeded those targets across the board in respect of its most recent business plan, and, as the Member said, we have agreed the new business plan. A range of support is provided for different businesses that seek different types of support and have different needs. Benefits are accordingly accrued across those. Examples include the Acumen project, which reported a combined business development value of £23·9 million and the creation of 114 jobs. Similar statistics can be attributed to various other programmes. As I said, if Members are seeking additional information, particularly those who are on the Economy Committee and have been asking the questions, I am happy to have InterTradeIreland furnish the Committee with some of that information to help it to understand the impact of the work that is being done.

I thank the Member for his question. Cross-border trade will continue to be a key pathway for SMEs to build export capability and resilience, as I said to Mr Honeyford. InterTradeIreland supports first-time traders and experienced traders through a range of pathways, including the structured trade pathway. It provides practical guidance via the Trade Hub and helps SMEs with accessing cross-border sales, public procurement and supply chains. At the NSMC meeting a couple of weeks ago, I heard from some businesses that have experienced that support and have significantly expanded their trade because of it. One such business is Long Meadow Cider, which is located in Portadown. It has availed itself of various trade supports to help it to plan and scale its cross-border exports. It now plans to take on additional employees for the first time. Couverture Desserts, which is located in Naas in County Kildare, has benefited from InterTradeIreland's Acumen programme, which has helped it to fund a sales resource to develop and grow sales across the island. Both those businesses talk, as do other businesses that I hear from regularly, about that support being crucial to enabling them to take the next steps. The additional confidence that they have as a result of the support and mentoring that they get is striking. We hear that all the time from SMEs that access support, whether via InterTradeIreland or Invest NI. It means that they are in a position where they feel that they can take further steps.

I thank the Member for her question. As I mentioned in the statement, we agreed the new business plan and corporate plan for 2026-28, which reflect the economic priorities North and South. Our priority sectors are reflected in those plans. It is about providing the types of support that businesses, regardless of sector, will need for innovation and skills and to take the next steps when it comes to exports. InterTradeIreland provides support for supply chains, so, if businesses in your constituency want support in that regard, I very much encourage them to get in touch and access the available support.

I thank the Member for her question. It is an important point. Often, SMEs are so focused on doing their day-to-day business that lifting their head to look for support is at the end of a long list. It is important that that support be accessible. Of course, there is an online presence from InterTradeIreland. I very much encourage any business seeking support to reach out to InterTradeIreland to access that whole range of support. Obviously, there are also supports available from other sources. We recently had a conversation in the Chamber about the need for Go Succeed to continue to be funded. Often, the first point of contact that many business people have is with their local council. Go Succeed is delivered through the councils. It signposts people to the variety of support that best meets the needs of their business. That highlights why we want to make sure that that remains. InterTradeIreland is very accessible, and I encourage businesses to look at the whole range of support. We are putting a particular focus, including through Invest NI, on access to finance, because we know that that is a particular challenge for many small businesses.

I warmly welcomed the announcement in November that the Irish Government had made allocations of over €50 million to the Shared Island Fund to be delivered as part of that initiative from 2026 to 2030. My Department has been working more closely than ever with the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment to ensure that there is strategic alignment and synergy across key policy areas. We have bids currently under consideration by the Shared Island unit at the Department of the Taoiseach. I welcome the most recent milestone that we have reached in the delivery of successful Shared Island sustainability capital grants. The funding received through that by three successful companies in the North is of huge significance to support innovation and sustainability in the region, and it is a strong example of how that collaboration can really drive economic impact.

I thank the Member for his question. It is not entirely related to the statement, but I am happy to respond to it because it is an area about which I am particularly passionate. We have recently set up an entrepreneurship co-design group in the Department, bringing together the various partners across the sector to look at how we better support people who want to be business people, those who have a business idea and those who are already in business and are taking the next steps. We will see the bringing together of that group and the development of an action plan over the next short period. That will give us the opportunity to look at how we can expand the support that is there and ensure that we encourage people to take those opportunities.

2,098 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:32 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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