Chairman of the Northern Ireland Conservatives, Irwin Armstrong, whose company CIGA Healthcare won UK-wide Small Industrial Company of the Year at the Best of British Industry Awards, has challenged the executive to explain how it is using its budget to grow the economy and create jobs in Northern Ireland.
“Enterprise Zones are a fantastic example of what can be put in place to create growth when the will is there”, Irwin noted. “What is being done to develop this idea in Northern Ireland?”
“As part of the last budget, the government established 21 of these ‘hotspots’ for investment and job creation in England. Provisions were also put in place so that the executives in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales can do exactly the same. The Scottish and Welsh administrations have already set about creating 9 Enterprise Zones in their regions, why aren’t we following suit?”
“This year the government added £45 million to our block grant, under Barnett Formula consequentials which reflect extra spending across national departments. Why couldn’t this extra cash have been used to help create Enterprise Zones? Elsewhere these projects attract jobs and investment by offering reduced rates, superfast broadband speeds and simplified planning processes.”
“Our ministers constantly complain about planning regulations preventing projects which could bring jobs to Northern Ireland, yet they fail to do anything to improve the situation. They contradict each other over Corporation Tax powers and the Finance Minister even announces that, if they are devolved, the executive will delay implementing cuts for as long as possible.”
“Why, just once, can’t we see some imagination and some ‘can do’ spirit from the parties at Stormont? Why not use the Enterprise Zone powers they’ve been given by government to show that Northern Ireland is open for business? And where did the extra £45 million actually go, which could have been used to make a start on such a project?”