Minister outlines economy plan to address regional imbalances

Minister Murphy said Invest NI will direct 65% of its investments outside of the Greater Belfast area.

The Economy Minister, Conor Murphy, has launched an economic plan to address the regional imbalances in Northern Ireland's economy.

It means £45m will be available for councils to distribute through new "local economic partnerships" over the next three years which can involve businesses, universities and colleges and community organisations".

The plans include the restructuring of Invest NI in a way that includes a 40% increase in its staffing numbers in its regional offices.

The Department for Economy will also be restructuring, including a new regional balance unit.

Speaking to the NI Assembly, Murphy said Invest NI will direct 65% of its investments outside of the Greater Belfast area as part of the plans.

Invest NI Chief Executive Kieran Donoghue said they are committed to increased regional balance.

Why is this needed?

The report highlights the discrepancies in economic performance across Northern Ireland.

For example, average wages in Belfast are 44% higher than in Ards & North Down.

The employment rate in Derry City & Strabane is 10 percentage points lower than Mid Ulster.

Labour productivity in Belfast is 31% higher than in Derry City & Strabane.

The report said: "Funding is not the answer to all issues; it will not close disparities in isolation."

"It is a small first step in building better partnerships with councils and putting more control in the hands of local decision-makers on economic development," it added.

Funding to the new local economic partnerships will be determined by need and this formula will be co-designed with councils by December 2024.

'Profound divisions'

Invest NI will be implementing its new approach from October and the new structure is due to be in place by April 2025.

This new target aims to increase the percentage of investments outside the Belfast Metropolitan Area (which includes Belfast, Antrim & Newtownabbey, Ards & North Down, and Lisburn and Castlereagh) from an average of 56% over the last 5 years, to 65% by 2026/27.

This increase in resourcing for Invest NI comes after an independent review, led by Sir Michael Lyons, was published last year.

It found "profound divisions" at the top of Invest NI were having a damaging impact on the organisation.

The president of Derry Chamber of Commerce, Greg McCann said the plan is a "step in the right direction".

"The North West region has long been in need of this type of targeted economic intervention to tackle historical regional imbalance," he said.

Mr McCann added that the collaboration between Invest NI's north west regional office, Derry City and Strabane Council and local economic stakeholders "should ensure that local voices play a role in the shaping of this plan".