Business leaders hear from devolved political leaders at CBI Northern Ireland Business Breakfast

Northern Ireland’s devolved political leaders joined around 300 business leaders, policymakers and other stakeholders at the CBI Northern Ireland Annual Business Breakfast at Belfast City Hall today/yesterday (Friday Oct 18th).

The event was organised in association with strategic partner, Northern Ireland Electricity Networks and corporate partners, eir evo, and The Maxol Group.  The event included a panel discussion that explored the economic benefits for Northern Ireland businesses stemming from closer cooperation between the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

The First Minister, Michelle O’Neill MLA and deputy First Minister, Emma Little-Pengelly MLA, updated the business community on the Executive’s commitment to building a competitive economy; while CBI Chair Rupert Soames OBE, and Ibec CEO, Danny McCoy engaged in a wide-ranging economic discussion that was chaired by CBI Northern Ireland Director, Angela McGowan.

The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, the Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP, and the representatives of all five main political parties in Northern Ireland were present. The Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Micky Murray, also attended the breakfast, which is a key fixture on the annual NI business calendar.

Angela McGowan, Director, CBI, Northern Ireland, said:   

“It is a privilege to be in a room where so many business leaders, politicians and stakeholders are demonstrating their interest in as well as their support for growing the Northern Ireland economy. After the many economic jolts of recent years, this event highlighted the importance building collaborative relationships between the business communities and the governments across the British-Irish isles.

“Eight months after the restoration of a fully functioning Executive and assembly, the UK Labour Government recently marking its first 100 days and a new Taoiseach in place, now is the perfect time to take stock - and to look to the future. I especially thank our strategic partner, Northern Ireland Electricity Networks, sponsors, eir evo, The Maxol Group and Belfast City Hall for contributing to another fantastic CBI Northern Ireland event”.

Rupert Soames OBE, Chair, CBI, said:   

“It really is a joy to come to Belfast and meet with so many of Northern Ireland’s hard-working businesspeople. As part of a spirited panel discussion with Ibec’s Danny McCoy, I was greatly heartened to hear that local business leaders feel more upbeat today than they were just twelve months ago.

“Despite this optimism, we know there are plenty of challenges facing firms – particularly uncompetitive business rates and the high cost of doing business. We must also ensure that Northern Irish firms are maximising the import-export opportunities arising from the Windsor Agreement.

“Creating a thriving economy that really delivers prosperity across Northern Ireland means harnessing the talent and ingenuity of business leaders and banking the benefits of recent political progress at Stormont. Government can’t do it alone; we need businesses firing on all cylinders to deliver the long-term sustainable growth we all want to see.”

Danny McCoy, Ibec CEO, said:  

“I'm delighted to be in Belfast for this important CBI NI Annual Business Breakfast as Ibec and the CBI continue to progress shared economic issues and opportunities through our Joint Business Council.

“The recent visit of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to Dublin, where I was pleased to lead a business delegation to meet him, marked an important reset. Both the Prime Minister and Taoiseach Simon Harris are personally committed to a bold reset of UK-Ireland relations as co-guarantors of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.

“We must now harness that renewed ambition to go further on trade and investment, driving growth and fostering cooperation on shared challenges such as climate, energy, technology, and innovation. There are significant opportunities for economic prosperity across the UK, Ireland and Northern Ireland if we can capitalise on the potential of the All-Island economy.”

Sir David Sterling, Independent Non-Executive Chair, Northern Ireland Electricity Networks, said: 

“With over 900,000 customers connected to our electricity networks, NIE Networks has a unique role to play in the decarbonisation of our businesses and in making Northern Ireland a great place to live. We were delighted to be the strategic partner for the CBI Breakfast as it provides an important opportunity to bring together leaders in business, academia, politics and government.

“NIE Networks is at the start of an investment period that will rebuild the electricity network and provide the levels of capacity and reliability that are needed for a vibrant economy, a prosperous society and realisation of our net zero targets. Events like today’s are important as we strive to work even more closely with businesses and policy makers, to understand their requirements, facilitate their decarbonisation journey and ensure we’re working collaboratively to exploit green energy opportunities for Northern Ireland.”

Richard Gillan, Chair, CBI Northern Ireland, said:   

“It was great to see so many business leaders ‘in the room’ together at our breakfast event. Their voice has never been so important as we co-design policies with government which support our indigenous businesses and facilitate further investment. I would like to thank all those who attended, and in particular our sponsors Northern Ireland Electricity Networks, eir evo and The Maxol Group.”

Michelle O’Neill MLA, the First Minister of Northern Ireland, said:  

“The CBI and the organisations you represent make such a positive contribution to our economy and to the lives of workers and families here. This is something that is really important to both of us and to the whole Executive and we have made that clear in the draft Programme for Government. One of the priority areas we wish to focus on is to grow a sustainable economy.

“Employers and workers are central to this vision. We will support them to build the skills needed now and in the future to grow our economy. We invite everyone to have their say and get involved in the public consultation. Your input into our policies, and your partnership in implementing them, ensures that we are building an economy that is not only competitive but also inclusive and focused on the future.”

Emma Little-Pengelly MLA, the deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, said:  

“Improving our economy is a priority for us and events like this offer an opportunity to have constructive conversations with key stakeholders around how we can all work together to ensure businesses get the support they need to thrive.

"Northern Ireland punches well above its weight. We’ve created successful global companies and start-ups and are internationally recognised as a key player when it comes to cybersecurity, RegTech, FinTech and advanced manufacturing but we can do so much more.”