Next Steps for Economic Recovery

Ambition speaks to new NI Chamber president Paul Murnaghan about recovery, the importance of political stability and why NI businesses can be optimistic about the future.

The new president of Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Paul Murnaghan, has called on NI Executive Ministers to “reset the dial and turn their attention away from party political wrangling towards issues-based policy making which supports jobs and economic growth.”

The Head of BT in Northern Ireland was appointed to the role in June and succeeds Henry Brothers Director, Ian Henry.

Looking to the immediate recovery of Northern Ireland in a post-COVID landscape, the NI Chamber president said that the restoration of all sectors should be “safe and managed” and urged politicians to work together to streamline that process.

Paul begins: “Businesses here are resilient – they are doing all they can to get back to normal – to bounce back – but it is getting tougher and tougher to move forward and the lack of focus on the economy by our elected representatives is very disheartening indeed. They must reset the dial and turn their attention away from party political wrangling towards issues-based policy making which supports jobs and economic growth.”

“We need to see our political leaders and our communities working together in the best interests of Northern Ireland. A spirit of compromise and cooperation saw us through some of the worst weeks of the pandemic last year. We need that again if we are to truly recover.”

He continued: “Economy Minister Gordon Lyons must ensure that businesses of all sizes continue to receive the necessary financial and practical support they need to recover and prosper. He is challenged with creating the conditions for a vibrant and externally focused private sector which grows the economy, generates income from abroad and supports sustainable employment and learning, helping our young people who have also been very negatively impacted by COVID in education and employment terms.”

The NI Chamber president stresses that this will involve the NI Executive “working collegiately to transform our education system.” He said that the chance of “economically inactive” young people “seeing the advantage of the peace dividend seems even further away”.

Paul believes Northern Ireland has many reasons to be optimistic, with the most recent Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) with BDO illustrating some promising signs, particularly in manufacturing.

In the QES, nearly 70% of respondents believed that Northern Ireland’s status under the protocol – which avoids a hard border on the island – presented opportunities and the companies hopeful that their turnover and profits would grow in the next 12 months outnumbered those who believed it would fall.

The research also stated that 54% of members traded well or reasonably well during quarter one. “But of course there’s a long way to go if we’re to recover the ground we’ve lost,” Paul adds.

“We must look towards the opportunities. These include dual market access, the new trade deals with key markets such as Canada and Australia, the UK levelling up and All Island funding and the expertise that is available from our excellent universities and FE colleges.”

Like many of the businesses questioned in the QES, he believes the NI Protocol can support our recovery in the year ahead: “We are hearing about the disadvantages and the advantages of the NI Protocol right now, but we are in an enviable position of having ease of access to both the UK and EU markets and that unique trading access paired with the right promotion should make us a more attractive location for foreign direct investment.

“We must therefore remove any uncertainty and focus on reducing administration and costs, which are the negative aspects of the NI Protocol, and redirect our attention to the future with the government detaching the development of the NI economy, job creation and investment from party politics to ensure that we benefit from this advantage.”

Paul will be joined in his new leadership role by NI Chamber’s new vice-president, Gillian McAuley, Group HR Director of Devenish Nutrition.

Gillian is at the helm of one of the most innovative businesses in Northern Ireland. New roles, global expansion, innovative research and a new graduate and apprenticeship programme have all been pushing the company upwards in its sector and it has demonstrated a resilience that could prove influential for many other businesses here.

Speaking about her new role, Gillian said: “I am extremely proud to be appointed as vice-president. NI Chamber is a wellrespected business support organisation, with local roots and extensive links ranging from the World Chambers Network, the British Chambers of Commerce and Chambers Ireland.

“The organisation sits at the heart of our economy, helping businesses to help each other. That partnership approach has never been more relevant or important and the practical support it is currently providing to businesses across sectors is crucial.

“I look forward to working with the NI Chamber Board, Council and Executive team to cement NI Chamber’s position at the forefront of business support and representation.”

Welcoming both into their new roles, NI Chamber Chief Executive Ann McGregor, said: “I would like to congratulate Paul and Gillian on their election and thank the outgoing president Ian Henry for working exceptionally hard on behalf of member businesses over the past year. Our new president and vicepresident bring a breadth of experience which will become a great asset to the organisation.”