ECONOMY
(Enterprise, Trade & Investment)

Spokesperson: Sean Neeson MLA

Last updated: 23 June 2004

Alliance favours a mixed economy, in which a primacy of market solutions is balanced by a government and public concern for social justice. The role of government, especially with the onset of a knowledge-driven economy, should be to create the right framework conditions for a dynamic and high-growth economy.

A successful economy and prosperity are essential to creating the favourable conditions for the development of a shared, non-sectarian society, and giving people a stake in the consolidation of peace.

The economy of Northern Ireland is our own responsibility. We must stand on our own financial feet. What is required is a change of attitude.

We need to encourage entrepreneurship and applaud local success stories. We need to be positive and outward-looking, with confidence in our abilities and skills. We need a ‘can-do’ culture that focuses on results.

We must give greater recognition for the increasingly vital role women have in our economy. This includes removing social barriers to their promotion to upper management, and delivering equal pay. Alliance is confident in the abilities and skills of men and women, equally.

Our economy will be driven forward by private business. Government can encourage this by removing structural obstacles. Our vision must be modernised:

• Northern Ireland suffers from the lack of control over fiscal policy. This contributes to an over-dependence on grants rather than tax-breaks and incentives for attracting inward investment. We need to be more financially independent, so we can take more responsibility for our spending priorities.
• Northern Ireland has too small a base in new high-tech, knowledge-based industries. We spend too little on Research and Development, which curtails innovation.
• The Euro-zone (especially including the Republic of Ireland) and EU enlargement will further force Northern Ireland companies to be more globally competitive.

MANIFESTO PLEDGES (2003 NI Assembly)

• Build an economy based on the principles of profitability, sustainable development, enterprise, equality of opportunity and social inclusion. This includes removing all obstacles for equal pay for equal work.
• Use tax-varying powers (when achieved) to rate taxation according to profitability, employee size, and/or growth potential. This provision of enhanced tax incentives could be the first of its kind to produce rewards for success, and encourage growth at an exponential rate. For example, Alliance would reduce tax for SMEs with less than 3 years of trade. We would also lobby for the threshold for VAT to be raised to £75,000.
• Introduce a new Northern Ireland Quality mark. Cheaper to access than the British Standards kite and ISO9000 schemes, the Northern Ireland Quality mark will create loyalty and trust for local consumers, and sales and growth for Northern Ireland companies. The Northern Ireland Quality mark can also serve to mediate in consumer issues.
• Promote best practice in environmental performance. Alliance will expand the availability of tools available to help companies achieve this. (See also our commitment to a Green Economy Task Force.)
• Lobby for the introduction of the Euro. Membership of the Euro could bring net benefits such as greater economic stability, lower interest rates, lower inflation, a more favourable climate for investment, greater price transparency and competition, reduced transaction costs, and the reduction of risk associated with fluctuating exchange rates.
• Reduce needless regulations and bureaucracy for small businesses. Such obstacles to growth must be minimised.
• Lobby for age-positive hiring programmes. Forcing older people to prematurely leave their employment robs the economy of decades of knowledge and expertise. We recommend re-training of the older workforce, and we will provide positive solutions to employers, to employ older workforces.
• Lobby for the minimum wage to be extended to those aged 16+. Young employees should not be paid less for the same work, simply because of their age.
• Develop Information Technology in Northern Ireland. We will lead a drive to improve the understanding of this sector and support from leading businesses, banks and government departments. We will provide assistance, where necessary, in order to encourage IT to grow.
• Lobby for positive change in re-employment schemes. New Deal has been too cumbersome. We need better and more efficient schemes to recruit women, mature trainees and the long-term unemployed.
• Support parental leave schemes, so that fathers as well as mothers can address the competing demands of work and family life.
• Introduce an Employment Appeals Tribunal. Combined with more informal arbitration services, we will reform and improve the efficiency of the tribunal system. There needs to be equal representation for both employer and employee in the tribunal service.
• Integrate economic and education policy. The needs of business can be compatible with educational provision. For example, collaborative clusters of schools, businesses and colleges should be established. Lifelong learning can maximise an individual’s employability.
• Give priority to the Belfast-Dublin, Derry-Dublin and other key cross-border transport corridors. We will also work to establish a central UK-wide plan to develop strategic routes and linkages on the west coast of Great Britain. This includes securing at least 3 direct air routes to continental Europe and 1 to the USA.
• Increase funding for tourism product marketing activities, to revise the overall image and profile of Northern Ireland overseas. Furthermore, Alliance believes a public-private sector partnership is central to the success of tourism. We support efforts to involve the private sector more in the growth of the tourism industry.
• Lead the way in engaging more actively in European, UK and Republic of Ireland initiatives, especially in areas of technology, competitiveness, IT, and education and training. This will build a wider perspective and international outlook.

Energy

A sustainable energy policy is needed for Northern Ireland, one that aims to maximise energy efficiency and minimise consumption of non-renewable resources. Consumers of energy should become more aware of the true economic and environmental costs of their consumption. Tax and subsidy regimes should be altered accordingly to better reflect the ‘polluter pays’ principle.

• Buy out generating capacity currently under contract to NIE. Alliance will introduce a low-cost borrowing mechanism, in order to reduce electricity costs to Northern Ireland consumers. If HM Treasury continues to block this proposal, then Alliance will demand the payback of the 1992 sell-off of our power stations. We must have a fair and cost-effective trading system to reduce electricity prices in Northern Ireland, which are the highest in the UK.
• Improve capacity on the North-South electricity interconnector and support measures to access less expensive energy supplies from Great Britain. Alliance will also deliver the extension of natural gas services to the West.
• Promote energy efficiency and conservation. Unacceptable amounts of energy are wasted through inefficiencies. Alliance would consider the introduction of energy rating for private dwellings and encouragement for householders to effect energy conservation.
• Increase access of renewable energy sources to the general public. With the development of a strategic approach, Northern Ireland is well placed to take advantage of the potential of both wind and wave energy. In a region rich in renewable resources, government policy must emphasise and encourage new, imaginative sources of energy. Energy technology should be supported by government funding as well as by the private sector.

POLICY PAPERS

Northern Ireland: A Can Do Place (PDF) or view as webpage (html)

Energy (PDF) or view as webpage (html)

CONSULTATION DOCUMENTS