No evidence of dual market access attracting NI investment

Kieran Donoghue, pictured with Conor Murphy, was speaking at a Stormont committee

The chief executive of Invest NI has told a Stormont committee there is no evidence yet of any foreign direct investment in Northern Ireland as a result of dual market access.

Kieran Donoghue faced questions from Stormont's economy committee about the number of projects Invest NI has attracted and what their motivation was for investing here.

Dual market access is a consequence of Northern Ireland’s Brexit deal.

It means that Northern Ireland manufacturers have better access to the EU single market than firms based in GB, while also retaining full access to the UK market.

'Low level of awareness'

DUP MLA Jonathan Buckley asked if there was any evidence of attracting foreign direct investment of unique dual market access.

Mr Donoghue replied: "Not to my knowledge, at this point in time, not yet.

"I think there is still a relatively low level of awareness of the opportunities presented by dual market access."

"There will, in time, be FDI opportunities," he added.

Economy Minister Conor Murphy been visiting Germany to promote dual market access

Mr Donoghue said Invest NI has set up a dedicated team to focus on dual market access, some of whom are currently in Germany with the Economy Minister Conor Murphy selling the proposition to potential investors.

Murphy said he wants to increase understanding of the arrangement and how it could benefit inward investors.

He said there was an awareness that Northern Ireland has a particular post-Brexit arrangement but more work is needed to help businesses understand the details.

An official from the Department for Economy was also questioned and told politicians it is difficult to say.

Paul Grocott said: "I think it's at an early stage, whereby the exact relationship of moving goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland remains evolving and uncertain.

"Until that is settled, it is very hard to pinpoint exactly how a business exporting or looking for investment could be directly attributed to those arrangements."