Economy Minister Conor Murphy has warned that Northern Ireland’s “stubbornly low” productivity levels will take time to improve, but that proactive measures are in place to tackle the problem.
Addressing more than 150 business leaders at the Belfast Chamber Productivity Summit, Minister Murphy highlighted how productivity is a fundamental driver of overall living standards and shared findings from recent Queen’s University Belfast research which revealed the extent of the region’s productivity shortfall.
According to the research, the local economy is 11% below the British average and lags even further behind the rest of Ireland where productivity is around 8% higher than the British average.
Minister Murphy said:
“Unfortunately, productivity in the north is stubbornly low. Improving it is one of my four key objectives. Higher productivity will in turn provide a sound basis for more good jobs.
“The transition to Net Zero can be used to create more productive technologies and industries. And by increasing Regional Balance we will raise average productivity levels.
“It is going to take some time to close the productivity gap with Britain and with the south of Ireland. However, I already commenced a number of proactive actions to increase productivity. I hope that by the end of my term in office we are on the right path.”
Delegates at the Belfast Chamber Productivity Summit, which was hosted in partnership with Queen’s University Belfast and Kingsbridge Healthcare Group, also heard from Head of Civil Service, Jayne Brady; Dr David Jordan, who has been instrumental in conducting productivity research with Queen’s University Belfast and who has been appointed by the Economy Minister to assist with policy development; and from local companies in various sectors including Diaceutics, FinTrU and Mount Charles which shared best practice examples.
Clare Guinness, CEO of Belfast Chamber, commented:
“In line with Minister Murphy’s Economic Vision, which focuses on creating a dynamic, innovative and inclusive economy, the Belfast Chamber is committed to ensuring that local businesses are equipped with resources that will enable opportunities for growth, now and into the future.
“Through informing and engaging with our members and the wider business community; and marrying the learning from the Queen’s University Belfast research and the outputs of the NI Productivity Forum, we are committed to bringing the Economic Vision to life and turning up our productivity levels.”
