Issues

Enterprise zone debate

Press Eye - Belfast -  Northern Ireland - 29th July 2013 

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Simon Hamilton has been appointed the new Minister of Finance and Personnel.

He replaces Sammy Wilson, who is also MP for east Antrim. The move, which was widely anticipated, was announced by the party leader and First Minister, Peter Robinson, on Monday.

Mr Hamilton is the MLA for Strangford. He was first elected in 2007.

Picture by Kelvin Boyes / Press Eye. The first enterprise zone in 30 years has been welcomed by Finance Minister Simon Hamilton following its announcement in the Budget. The site will be adjacent to the University of Ulster at Coleraine. It follows on from a planned investment from IT firm 5NINES.

The Driver and Vehicle Agency’s decision to close its office – due to result in 300 job losses later this year – is an additional reason for locating the zone in the town.

Enterprise zones were proposed in the Economic Pact signed in June last year but the zones were first implemented in the 1980s. Many economists claimed that they only displaced businesses from other locations by offering tax incentives.

Peter Robinson previously shared that critique.

Indeed last April, he told the Assembly: “I become concerned when people are looking for enterprise zones in Northern Ireland because, in my experience, they displace business from one area to another and often provide for unfair competition between businesses.”

In a 2012 debate, Sammy Wilson said that they would create “economic distortion” and he expected legal challenges. However, Simon Hamilton said that “through a pilot enterprise zone, we can help to achieve the Northern Ireland Executive’s number one priority: to grow the economy.”

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