Report welcomes pro-business policies in North
There has been a cautious endorsement for the Northern Executive from the North's business community today.
The First Trust Bank Economic Outlook and Business Review said while it was generally accepted there had rarely been a better set of pro-business policies in place following the budget and Programme for Government, it was wiser final judgement was reserved for at least 12 months.
The review predicted that it would only be then that there would be a clear picture on whether the promised measures were beginning to materialise.
Michael Smyth, senior lecturer in economics at the University of Ulster, said the cautious welcoming of the pro-business policies was well founded.
He said: “While the budget sets the right direction for the economy and places encouragement of greater private sector investment and growth as the top priority, this will only be achievable if the promised measures within the PfG and Budget materialise.
“If for example, the efficiency savings upon which much of the budget allocations are predicted are not met, then the prospect of departmental budget cuts looms large.”
However, he said overall it seemed the outlook for the North's economy remained broadly positive.
“With the investment strategy representing a huge vote of confidence in the future of the economy and business rates on hold for the next three years, we are seeing the introduction of a new pragmatic approach to politics in Northern Ireland,” said Mr Smyth.
Despite signs of a slowing of growth in the UK economy, optimism remained high and the review expected to see economic growth in the North to continue at or close to the long-run average with a predicted 3% GDP growth in 2008, he said.
Writing in the report, Economy Minister Nigel Dodds set out key actions the Executive would be taking to strengthen the economy.
The one overarching goal was to halve the private sector productivity gap with the rest of the UK – excluding the Greater South east by 2015.
Mr Dodds said: “This is an aspirational goal, but it reflects the aim of the Executive to increase wealth and prosperity in the Northern Ireland private sector.
“It will mean attracting employment that pays higher wages and firms that yield greater profits for the local economy.”
The minister said in working to achieve the goal the emphasis would be to improve the productivity performance of the private sector and also build on recent progress within manufacturing.
“My aim, as Economy Minister, is to ensure that Northern Ireland’s economic development policies are aligned to this productivity goal and policy objectives so that Northern Ireland will be a much more rewarding place to live, work and invest in.
“There is hard work ahead. But with all of the economy stakeholders working together, I believe we can achieve our aim.”
Terry McDaid, managing director of First Trust, said: “While the general consensus is that the budget and wider Programme for Government represents good news for the economy and now offers a new direction and focus, we must ensure that we meet the challenging targets included within it.”
