Stormont: H&W boss warns stalemate risks future investment

John Wood says plans for expansion will be made more difficult without a functioning executive

The boss of Harland and Wolff has warned the lack of a Stormont government is putting future investment at the shipyard in jeopardy.

Chief executive John Wood said he is frustrated by the current political vacuum.

Mr Wood added that the "time for playing games is over".

He was speaking at the Conservative Party Conference in Manchester, where he is due to attend a reception with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Mr Wood said the company are hoping to increase their workforce to around two and half thousand over the next 18 months, but said it will be "problematic" without a functioning executive in place.

He pointed to problems with power supply for a forthcoming contract to refit up to 16 cruise ships, which cannot be resolved without government input.

He said recruitment would also be a challenge in the absence of Stormont's assistance with apprenticeship schemes.

'Time for playing games is over'

"We actually should have government out there helping us grow the economy, not sitting back doing nothing, " he said.

"We've built the business up to the size we have we've done over 200 dockings now in Belfast and I think the port authority there in the harbour have been so supportive.

"I just think you can see what we're doing with our hands tied behind our back. Imagine if our hands were cut free, how much more we could do."

But he also warned future investment could slow down "until we get a government in place".

When asked about the current political stand-off, Mr Wood said: "Sometimes you win elections, sometimes you lose them, you have to come back in and I think we need to get on with it.

"The time for playing games is over."

He added while he understood the arguments put forward by unionist politicians "we need to get on and build the economy. We've more or less had no government the whole time since we reopened in Belfast and it's problematic".

Mr Wood admitted the new Windsor Framework controls on the movement of goods into Northern Ireland from Great Britain had "caused problems" for the shipyard, but he added "we are all about getting on with the job".

He said: "If we waited on government - be it in London or Belfast - we would be waiting a long time".

Despite the challenges, Mr Wood said the shipyard hoped to announce another new contract in the coming weeks.

He added they also plan to invest £75m in new technology at the ship yard.

Last year Harland and Wolff secured a contract to build three new Royal Navy support ships at a cost of £1.6bn.

It is expected to create 900 jobs at Harland and Wolff when production starts in 2025.