Conor Murphy
Newry and Armagh · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“More detailed consultations with individual childcare providers and parents are taking place this month and into February. The group agreed that the research would conclude in March 2025. The work is on schedule; there has been no delay. Childcare is an excellent example of various Departments coming together to deliver for our people.”
“The Bill looks at the issue of flexible working, but at every meeting that we have had with employers, we have made a point of talking to them about the need for them to be flexible, particularly in relation to women who are returning to the workforce, and to offer people arrangements that entice them back to the workforce and give them t…”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak to the motion. <BR /> <BR />Although the Department of Education leads on childcare, it is a priority for the Executive as a whole. When setting the Budget for this financial year, the Executive earmarked an additional £25 million for childcare.”
“As a matter of fact, I publicly launched the scheme and the courses in the Met last summer. My officials are also working with our six further education colleges to develop childcare microcourses for future delivery. <BR /> <BR />I also offered to assist Minister Givan's Department as required.”
“The group identified the need to better understand the business models for childcare, what type of support is needed to ensure the sector's financial viability and how support should be targeted. Given my Department's business expertise, we volunteered to take that work forward.”
“No tensions or obstacles have been placed in the way of any of that work, and I hope that that continues to be the case, because the issues are much more important than party political exchanges across the Chamber. We will continue to work in that manner.”
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“All his Executive colleagues will, I think, support it, because, just as we recognise the need for investment in water and sewerage infrastructure, we recognise that investment in planning reform will be essential to deliver on any of the projects that any Department wants to do.”
“The point is well made. Planning reform is critical. We had a round-table meeting yesterday with the Minister for Communities, the Minister of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, who is a party colleague of the Member, and the Minister for Infrastructure. We have had this conversation with Infrastructure. The reform of planning will be critical because, if councils want to develop projects, they need to get them through their planning systems. The current bottleneck, particularly in the consultee process, places in jeopardy not only some of the ideas in the plan but, potentially, if we do not get the planning system sorted, all the Executive's infrastructure propositions. In some ways, that is a given. The Minister for Infrastructure has sought transformation funds to try to bring some level of reform.”
“That is a clear commitment from the Executive as a whole. It is obviously in draft form, but Executive colleagues support that commitment, so I expect it to be held to. In the outworking of all this, what we have identified around resources is really about supporting local economic voices to come together, articulate their needs and, perhaps, pump-prime specific interventions that they want to be made. All the Departments are spending money in all the areas, and, if there is a very strong voice saying, "These are the key issues in our area that need to be addressed", I expect Departments to respond to that. It would make sense for them to make the most efficient use of their limited resources by spending on what will have the most impact on the areas in which they spend the money.”
“As the Member said, the Programme for Government says:”
“I have engaged with Belfast City Council and its group leaders on how they would use some of the resource that might come from this to tackle issues of deprivation in some of those urban areas. On the measurement of Invest's activity, which was clearly criticised in the Lyons report for being too Belfast-centric, this is about measuring Invest's actual activity outside that area and increasing its level of activity in supporting businesses to grow. We want to see businesses and economic prosperity grow right across the region, but we have a direct responsibility to try to tackle imbalance. If we do that by measuring it in the way that I described, we can get a sense of how the dial is shifting outside the greater Belfast area.”
“I welcome the Chair's statement. I also thank him and the Deputy Chair for the discussion that we had earlier. Of course, the Programme for Government, which the Executive have released in draft form and which is, with Executive agreement, out for consultation, commits us all to work to address regional imbalance. I expect that that will follow through with other Departments' engagement. The BMAP that the Member mentioned was, I think, a 2004 construct, but, obviously, we have talked about the four council areas, including Belfast, in proximity to it. <BR /> <BR />The BMAP is for the purpose of measurements. There are clear issues of deprivation in that.”
“That particularly came to light during COVID, when the Department of Finance ended up supporting the airport. <BR /> <BR />Given the airport's strategic and regional economic presence and what that means for the north-west generally, it is our intention that the Department for the Economy will assume responsibility for it. We need to work through the arrangements for that. That would lift the burden that Derry City and Strabane District Council ratepayers have been carrying on their own, even though the airport serves other council areas and geographical areas. Of course, that will, in turn, allow the council to use that money for other purposes to, hopefully, develop economic prosperity in the Derry city council region.”
“We have not been overly prescriptive on the make-up of local partnerships, because that is best worked out locally. Of course, that will include not just the university at Magee but other regional colleges across different council areas. As I said, we are not being prescriptive. The one prerequisite is that they are genuine partnerships. It will work only if people genuinely come together to articulate the economic priorities in an area and work to deliver them. <BR /> <BR />On Derry airport, we have been in dialogue and working through the arrangements with the Department for Infrastructure for some time, and we have been talking to the airport and Derry city council. As the Member will know, there has been a bit of ping-pong on the issue for too many years.”
“The chief executive of Invest NI has informed me that reaching the target will be challenging, but he, his staff and his board are committed to serving the entire region, and they will do everything in their power to deliver it. <BR /> <BR />The approach that I have outlined today involves a profound change in how we deliver economic development. It starts with local communities working in partnership to define their priorities. It then builds an ecosystem to deliver those priorities. The new structure will be operational from the start of the next financial year. This is a challenging timeline, given the extent of change involved, so I ask everyone to get behind this approach in the spirit of collaboration, because it is only by working together that we can reverse historical imbalances and deliver prosperity for all.”
“Consequently, the whole of Invest NI, not just its regional offices, will be reorientated towards developing local economies. <BR /> <BR />Crucially, I am setting a clear and ambitious bottom-line target for Invest NI to promote regional balance. Fifty-eight per cent of the population is outside the greater Belfast area, yet the area outside greater Belfast makes up 48% of the economy, as measured by gross valued added (GVA). In order to help redress that imbalance, within three years 65% of the agency's investment should be outside the Belfast metropolitan area. Delivering that target will require changes in organisational structure, decision-making processes, policy, practice and culture.”
“Staff numbers in regional offices will be increased by an initial 40%. Regional offices will assume responsibility for managing local clusters and businesses with a turnover of up to £2 million. <BR /> <BR />A lack of available land for commercial and industrial use is a major barrier to development in a number of council areas. Invest NI will therefore deliver and finance a new regional property strategy that will be delivered through regional offices. Property specialists will be recruited to develop land and property for business use. Invest NI's headquarters will support regional offices, providing specialist advice and expertise, and coordinate with key public bodies such as NIE Networks and NI Water to ensure that local needs are articulated and met.”
“Interventions could involve, for example, support for local clusters; skills programmes tailored to local businesses; preparing more land for business expansion; the development of new start-up and follow-on units; the regeneration of empty buildings for business use; and key infrastructure projects. My Department will recalibrate its programmes and budget to help meet those priorities. For example, my Department is in the process of taking responsibility for the funding provided by the local council to City of Derry Airport. <BR /> <BR />In addition to recalibrating mainstream funding, I intend to support local economic partnerships with dedicated funding of £45 million over the next three years. Invest NI will put a new focus on regional balance and will be a driving force in local economic partnerships.”
“Councils will be asked to establish local economic partnerships, bringing together central government, the business community, universities, colleges, local enterprise agencies and civil society. To minimise bureaucracy, existing partnerships can be modified to fulfil that new remit, and councils are free to come together to tackle common concerns and to pool resources and expertise. Partnerships will identify the main barriers to economic development and the priority interventions that will build the region's value proposition. Those priorities will continue to be updated as circumstances change over time.”
“The review also observed that regional offices were underutilised, not integrated into the organisation and too modestly resourced. <BR /> <BR />An important shift took place in 2015, when councils assumed greater economic responsibilities. That acknowledged the value of local areas leading their own economic development. However, councils cannot be expected to transform economies on their own. To turn the dial on regional economic performance, we need everyone pulling together as part of a coherent ecosystem, and I intend to establish that ecosystem. <BR /> <BR />The new approach to economic development starts with local communities identifying their own priorities.”
“Today, I am announcing a new strategic approach to economic development. It is an approach that is locally led and places regional balance at its heart. <BR /> <BR />The need for greater regional balance is clear. Employment rates range from a high of 79·5% in Mid and East Antrim to a low of 65·4% in Derry City and Strabane. Productivity, a fundamental driver of overall living standards, is 31% higher in Belfast than it is in Derry City and Strabane. <BR /> <BR />To date, the Department for the Economy has not had a coherent strategy for delivering regional balance. The Department did not set regional targets for its economic development agency, Invest NI. As confirmed by the independent review, Invest NI's decision-making was centralised in Belfast.”
“Where we have individual responsibility in our Department, in areas such as further and higher education or other skills provision, in offering assistance to people who want to come into that for the childcare opportunities, we will provide resource and money to make sure that people who want to come into education or skills provision have an opportunity to access more affordable childcare or, at least, support for childcare provision.”
“We are doing more in the area of further and higher education so that we can provide more childcare support in certain circumstances to people who wish to take up educational opportunities. We want to provide support for them in that arena. Of course, Invest NI is working with the Department of Education on that scheme, because Invest NI has business expertise that the Department does not necessarily have. They are working on how that will roll out through supporting childcare businesses and others in providing a more subsidised form of childcare. <BR /> <BR />All the Departments are working closely — this is an Executive priority — to try to get the childcare scheme developed.”
“There is always challenge, because we do not have the resource. If we had much more resource, we could do much more in that area. However, we will work closely with everyone we can to achieve that outcome.”
“We just have to continue to improve on what we are doing in order to make sure that we understand those sectors' needs. That is why larger companies can come forward with programmes. We have done skills academies for many of them. They have been very successful in getting people a guaranteed interview and a high proportion into jobs. We are a small and medium-sized enterprise economy so we are encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises to come together in clusters so that we can provide skills academies for them in order to try to make sure that they have a pool of people from which they can interview and, hopefully, engage. <BR /> <BR />We can take a range of measures. As I said, we want to try to fill the gaps that were identified in that report and where we think that there are deficiencies in our approach.”
“<BR /> <BR />There are, undoubtedly, challenges, and if we had more resources we could do an awful lot more, but we are working hard with all the actors that are in that sector to try to make sure that we get the best possible outcome.”
“<BR /> <BR />Some of that will be done through the childcare scheme, which will allow more people more affordable childcare and to access employment, training or education opportunities. We need to continue to press that. We do not have the resources that used to be in the Department for the Economy for that, but we allocated significant resources to it at the start of the summer. All the additional money that we got we put into skills, because it is the most crucial area, and we need others to work with us on that. We need to make sure that colleges and other skills providers are working as efficiently as they can across the sector and that businesses are contributing. They are the ones who are asking us to create pools of workers who are available for employment, and they need to work with us on that.”
“As I said in response to previous questions, we are very conscious of the skills challenge. From all sectors of our economy, from large to very small businesses, everybody mentions the same issue, which is getting people and skills. When you go abroad, you find that the biggest attractions for people who come to invest here are people and skills. Those are our biggest assets, but we need to do more and to assist. There will be potential for economic growth to stagnate if we cannot get more people. Post-Brexit, we do not have access to foreign workers in the same way that we had prior to Brexit. In any case, we had an obligation to meet the challenge of having a large number of economically inactive people and get them back into the workforce.”
“We hope to see an improving picture, because that, in turn, will encourage more confidence, and more confidence encourages more investment. By the end of the mandate, I want to have the economy on the correct trajectory and to make sure that we are all pulling in the same direction on economic growth.”
“I am conscious of the fact that the economy does not change overnight. Low-paid jobs and low productivity have been stubbornly with us for many, many years, and that will not change overnight. However, my Department, in discussion with Invest NI and with many business organisations, large and small, wants to create priorities for the economy and to set it in the right strategic direction and the right growth trajectory, and that is what we intend to do. <BR /> <BR />There are measurements, which I referred to in previous answers, for business and manufacturing growth. Certainly, business optimism has been strong over this year, and that augurs well for orders and manufacturing. Others chart day-to-day measurements.”
“It is about recognising that we have very limited resources, and it is about prioritising those and ensuring that we work closely with business to achieve the best possible outcomes.”
“We intend to do that by having a more strategic focus in a number of areas, which I have outlined from the start in terms of good jobs and productivity. We have had stubbornly low productivity here, which is inhibiting our businesses. We want to encourage more businesses into export, because those involved in export tend to be more productive and more innovative. We want to create good jobs. We are not simply about attracting jobs in for jobs' sake: we want to grow and improve the quality and skills of our workforce and have better jobs and better-paying jobs. <BR /> <BR />We have focused on seven areas that we think would be the most productive in supporting the ambition to have a more globally competitive economy. Those include fintech, advanced manufacturing and green tech.”
“Yes. As I said, we had businesses from various sectors, of various sizes — small businesses and larger ones — and from across the region. Every one of them reported very positive and optimistic outcomes from their engagements. I had the opportunity to chat to them a number of times over the course of the week and they were all very positive. They were very upbeat about the opportunity that they had for doing more business on the other side of the Atlantic.”
“We also had very useful engagements with the broad diaspora in Chicago and Toronto and received a lot of enthusiastic support for growing our economy and being able to create a more prosperous and equal society here. <BR /> <BR />All in all, we had a very successful outcome. The businesses will be following up on the contacts that they made in due course to make sure that they are turned into additional business for them.”
“It was a very successful visit. We took 12 companies from across the North, from all sectors and of all sizes. Between them, over the course of the week, they had about 100 engagements. My team and the Invest NI team also met businesses. Some of those are considering investing here and some have already invested here, and we encouraged them to do so and to expand and grow their businesses here respectively. <BR /> <BR />We had very warm receptions, and we had an opportunity to engage with tour operators and people in the tourism sector in Chicago and Toronto to encourage more visitors. The visitors who come from the United States and Canada tend to be high spending: they stay for longer and spend more money, particularly those on golf tours. We were encouraging growth in that area.”
“Yes, I expect the proposition to be reflected in the investment strategy. The investment strategy will be released soon, and we will certainly be making sure that the anticipated requirements for the Magee expansion, given that it is an Executive project as well as a commitment under a political agreement, will be met within it.”
“We need to turn that statement of intent into a plan. The first report published by the task force, which I thank for its work, has identified a range of challenges that need to be addressed to get to that place. We will respond to that, as will other Departments and agencies, North and South, and, hopefully, we will be in a position by the end of the year to release a much more detailed report, which will outline the steps that will be required. Of course, we will then want to deliver the 10,000 places that we have all committed to.”
“Anyone whom we have met in Derry has identified the expansion of Magee as the largest catalyst for economic growth. The area needs economic growth — there is absolutely no doubt about that — and the expansion of Magee is seen as the catalyst for delivering that. That is why I set up a task force. What was previously a statement in 'New Decade, New Approach' (NDNA) about a commitment to 10,000 places has become a commitment in the Programme for Government, supported by all Executive parties, to 10,000 places at Magee.”
“As I said, there will be lessons to be learned from the report, and, if gaps are identified in how the Department calibrates its response to the skills challenge, we will certainly look at those. We have been examining this since I came into post, and we have been proactive on it. We have secured more money for it, we are working with all of the groups involved in the provision of skills, education and training, and we want to make sure that we deliver as well as we can with the limited resources that we have. My intention is to make sure that any lessons from the report are learned and that any gaps that it identified are addressed.”
“I want to make sure that the Department examines the report and adopts whatever lessons need to be learned from that. That will assist us in trying to do the best that we can for skills and the way forward.”
“The Member will be aware that that was a report on performance a number of years back. After the Assembly came back, one of the first things that we did when we secured additional funding in the Department was put the entirety of that — £11·5 million — into skills. We hope to release a skills strategy in the coming weeks. It is a big area of challenge, as she will, I am sure, understand. The common challenge of any of the businesses that we meet, however large or small and regardless of the sector, is getting more people with more skills. That is why we are working closely with the first-stage providers — the colleges, universities and community and voluntary organisations — to make sure that we get the best skills packages possible into where they are needed most. <BR /> <BR />Yes, there will, of course, be lessons from that report.”
“We have moved to fund it at its level of need. It had not been funded to that level for some time, and we have already moved to do that. I anticipate that, as the level of business associated with the area in which it is working grows, there might be a requirement to re-examine that funding over the coming years. I am committed to and know that my counterpart in Dublin is committed to making sure that InterTradeIreland has the resource that it needs to do the vital job that we want it to do.”
“I attended the first meeting of the East-West Council, and there is no request for any resource. The body will be located in Whitehall and resourced from there. There is no request for resources from my Department, so no question around that arises. Of course, we want to see trade being as seamless as possible from east to west, North to South, into Europe and into the rest of the world. That is why we are being proactive in marketing dual market access to make sure that people understand it. That will be of benefit to all of our businesses. Of course, Brexit will continue to present challenges — unwanted challenges — to us, but that decision was taken in Britain, and we will continue to try to meet those challenges as best we can.”
“<BR /> <BR />I expect that, when further business plans are developed, there may well be a request for additional resources to grow the staff, but certainly it was under-resourced for some time. InterTradeIreland is now at a point where it has sufficient staff to face the immediate challenges, and I will now look to future plans and discuss them at the North/South level with my counterpart in the South.”
“The consequence of the additional funding that we put in has been to raise the headcount in InterTradeIreland from 47 to 65, and it is recruiting for those posts. It obviously covers the anticipated staff costs, and the request for staff is to meet the challenges. InterTradeIreland will be a key component in ensuring, in relation to the last question, that the advantages of dual market access are properly understood and advanced by businesses across the island. It has other important programmes on clustering and women's entrepreneurship that were funded through the Shared Island Fund, but we wanted to make sure it had the complement of staff needed to deliver on the challenges and the work it will have in the time ahead.”
“InterTradeIreland's budget reflects its operating needs, in line with its annual business plan. For 2024, InterTradeIreland's budget is £15·4 million. The split is on a one third/two thirds basis between my Department and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE). My Department's contribution is £5·2 million, and DETE's contribution is £10·2 million. It is worth noting that InterTradeIreland can access additional funding, including from the Shared Island Fund, where it leads on women's entrepreneurship and clustering in partnership with Invest NI and Enterprise Ireland.”
“I am not sure what that has to do with dual market access, but, nonetheless, the report was published last week. The matter may arise in further questions, but the interim report was published last week. It identifies challenges that need to be met in order to realise the ambition. I am sure we will get down to meeting those challenges in the near future.”
“It points to an improving picture for the manufacturing sectors, but I agree with the Member that we want to ensure that our companies can grow, export and trade as seamlessly as possible, both east-west and North/South.”
“Yes. Access to both markets is the key to the dual market access benefit that will flow to us. We will ensure that companies have as few barriers to trade as possible, east-west, North/South and into Europe. Our manufacturing companies, like the wider economy, face challenges. There is historically high inflation in raw materials, and there are rising wage and energy bills, but the figures published on 12 September show an easing in the contraction of the production output rate, with an improvement in the second quarter estimated at 3·5% from a figure of 4·3% in quarter one. <BR /> <BR />The Ulster Bank purchasing managers index reported that the manufacturing sector had the highest level of growth, activity and new orders and the strongest level of optimism of any sector.”
“Yes, a number of companies have been saying that they have benefited specifically from that. From the existing data, it is difficult to measure the exact impact across manufacturing. There is no data available on specific companies that are selling to both Britain and the EU to identify exactly how companies are benefiting. We certainly have had testimony from individuals indicating that they have seen great benefits. We have seen a small increase in goods from the North being exported to the EU over the past year, despite a challenging business environment and the cost-of-living crisis. Goods exports from GB to the EU fell by 9% over the same period, so that indicates that there are benefits to be had. We need to ensure that our local, indigenous businesses are fully aware of how to take advantage of those benefits.”
“I intend to go to a number of European destinations to make sure that people fully understand that, because, as the Member will understand as much as anybody, there continue to be unwelcome challenges from Brexit, and there will continue to be challenges for our businesses as a consequence of Brexit. Where there is an advantage to be gained, we have to make sure that we are in a position to act on it.”
“We will, however, need to ensure that the sectors that stand a chance of benefiting most understand what the rules and regulations are and how they will benefit. Bear in mind that dual market access was finally agreed only at around this time last year. It will be under implementation until 2025. Some of this is still evolving. <BR /> <BR />There is a significant interest in North America. As I said, when we met people last week, it was a frequent topic of conversation. We had officials there who were able to give advice and guidance to people who are considering investing here. That is the proposition that we will bring to Europe next month.”
“As the Member may know, I have just returned from North America, having been there all last week. It was a frequent topic of discussion. The Invest NI team out there has been presenting similar evidence of what dual market access looks like and will mean. There is an interest there in what it means for companies. <BR /> <BR />I suppose that it is on three levels. Geographically, we are looking at North America and Europe, but we are also looking at our indigenous businesses so that they fully understand what the propositions are. That is why that research was done. As the Member says, the services sector is strong, but it may not necessarily benefit so much from dual market access.”
“Research has been published that identifies the particular sectors that stand to gain most from access to both markets.”
“Maximising the opportunities associated with dual market access is key to growing our prosperity. Invest NI promotes the dual market access proposition through its network of overseas offices in Europe and beyond. It has developed a European programme that will showcase the North as an investment destination. The programme includes a comprehensive online marketing campaign and a series of in-person events, the first of which I will attend in Germany in October. Further events are planned for the Netherlands and Belgium. <BR /> <BR />Locally, I want to see our businesses take advantage of dual market access. Accordingly, my officials have initiated a forum with business representatives to co-design support and guidance for navigating the new regulatory environment and maximising our unique trading opportunities.”
“If the Member feels that there is a gap in a particular sector, I can check with the Department to see whether there was specific engagement with agriculture workers. If he senses that there is a gap, I am happy for departmental officials to engage with him to see what particular issues those workers are dealing with. At its core, however, the Bill is about providing a minimum standard of protection for workers in jobs to make sure that terms and conditions apply to people and that their rights are protected, regardless of the sector from which they come.”