Joe Kennedy: Functioning Stormont 'critically important' for US-NI investment

Northern Ireland is more attractive to American investors since the return of Stormont, the United States Special Envoy to Northern Ireland, Joe Kennedy, has said.

Speaking in Washington, where leaders from NI are gathering for St Patrick's Day celebrations, he said political stability was important.

Devolved government was restored in February after a 24-month hiatus.

"A first and deputy first minister is critically important," he said.

He told BBC News NI that the 230 US companies that employ 30,000 people in Northern Ireland were "betting on people in Northern Ireland already."

"They knew there was an opportunity, they needed people and they made an investment," he added.

However, he said that when it came to taking the next step - attracting other major investment - having stability and the institutions up and running was a "necessity".

"Now there is a compelling case to be made," he said.

"That's what this week is all about - having an opportunity to highlight the first and deputy first minister and having a great influx of leaders coming over here and people that can come here and help share the opportunities Northern Ireland has."

NI First Minister Michelle O'Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly are due to arrive in Washington on Wednesday.

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Mr Kennedy said he would be bringing around 50 to 55 US business leaders to Northern Ireland for a few days to experience what NI has to offer.

The Biden billions

Responding to a comment made by US President Joe Biden in Belfast last April, when he said American investors were ready to triple the $2bn already invested if power sharing was restored, Mr Kennedy said he was not going to put a time scale on such funding.

.Joe Kennedy III speaks at the President John F. Kennedy library during a visit by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar for St Patrick's Day

"What the president talked about was, I think, the opportunity for growing that engagement and growing that relationship in both directions between the US and Northern Ireland and island of Ireland," he added.

"Without question, I am hugely optimistic on seeing how this relationship can grow and is poised to grow, and that is what this week is, in part, all about."

He said he was "not going to put a number or time on when that will happen".

But I will say having the institutions up and running, and those relationships between those government leaders, is a lesson to all of us as to how to make this work," he added.

Mr Kennedy said that having preferential trading opportunities "that set Northern Ireland separate to the rest of the world means it has a lot going for it"

He said that, added to NI's talent and education, "all of that makes for a pretty good resume".