Ross Boyd, Founder and Managing Director at RBCA
The future of the Northern Ireland economy is looking brighter with areas of the private sector starting to make some modest gains after months of stagnation. Given that, as a region, we are currently only outpaced by London in terms of expansion, it appears that business activity in Northern Ireland is indexing well when compared to the rest of the UK. Ulster Bank’s purchasing managers’ index is reporting a strong March with output and sales both up – and this is reflected in many of our client’s financial positions. For the first time in a long time after grappling with many changes, we’re happy to support their new-found positivity.
However, many remain dissatisfied with the continued absence of our leaders, granted I use that word lightly. You can’t run a business without a board, so why should the country be operating without a functioning Executive?
The seemingly endless inertia is putting the reputation we in business have worked so hard for at serious risk. The Presidential visit was a wonderful opportunity for us to sell a new Belfast, 25 years on from the Good Friday Agreement. But alas, political instability remained the dominant message. There were calls from both Clintons for Stormont to get its act together, as potential U.S. investors looked on. Continued foreign investment in Belfast is crucial – and as we all know every investor wants stability, basically a safe bet.
If you look around Belfast you can clearly see what investment has brought and could continue to bring, even when you factor in Dublin as a major competitor for inward investment with an obviously much more favourable tax position. It’s time to wake up locally before these opportunities are lost.
Despite the clarion calls to get back – and Chris Heaton-Harris attempting to force the agenda, we are seeing little sign of movement. Clients appreciate that there are aspects of the Windsor Framework that remain unclear – and there is clearly a well-documented lack of operational detail. But perhaps it should be viewed as a unique economic opportunity too? The mood music amongst clients is that there is the genuine opportunity for enhanced economic growth with the new deal, which brings potential to explore increased trading opportunities and significant inward investment if managed properly.
The local business community deserves acknowledgement and praise for navigating the choppy waters they’ve found themselves in. They won’t get it – but they will carry on regardless as they always do. Northern Ireland’s community of business owners is after all made up of incredibly resilient, creative and intelligent people. These people have had to make many tough decisions and stepped up to the plate for the future of their businesses, which are often cited as the backbone of the Northern Ireland economy. We wait for our friends on the hill to do the same.
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