Trans-Atlantic transactions
Peter Cheney asks US Economic Envoy Declan Kelly about his work so far and questions why justice devolution matters for investment.
Devolving policing and justice shows investors that Northern Ireland is safe and stable for the future, according to Declan Kelly. The envoy, who is about to mark six months in his job so far, is “getting more confident by the day” that his team can make an economic difference in the province over the longer term.
Previous envoys, such as George Mitchell and Paula Dobriansky, have been political but Hillary Clinton decided that appointing an economic envoy would best support the peace process now.
Kelly explains: “Her view, which I think is shared by many people including myself, is that the next and most necessary and important phase of that entire process is to underpin all of it with economic development. Especially in the light of recent developments, which we’re all very pleased to see happen, it becomes even more important.”
He came to the role from serving as Vice- President of FTI Consulting and previously advised Clinton during her presidential campaign. The firm has 3,500 employees and offices in six continents; its 2008 profits totalled $283 million.
Born in Portroe, County Tipperary, he was a newspaper journalist before going into PR and consultancy. His younger brother, Alan, was last year elected as a Labour MEP for Ireland South.
Asked what he brought to the role from his business background, he reflects that he’ll let others judge whether he is successful in what he does: “All I’m doing everyday is trying to do my best.” His priority is to use his business relationships, built up over the last 20 years, for Northern Ireland’s benefit.
Kelly has six staff and has set up two working groups – one in Northern Ireland and one in America – to assist him. Several of the US group’s members run large companies.
A twin-track approach is being taken. Firstly, the ‘momentum’ track involves interviews, road shows, trade missions and speaking opportunities “to shine the light on Northern Ireland”.
Secondly, the ‘long-term leadership’ track mirrors Invest NI’s strategic work and will involve advisory boards for companies, endowments and mentorship programmes for young people. Key sectors include connected health, business services, emerging technologies 45 corporate agenda and financial services: “The idea there is to plant long-term seeds that will grow over time.”
He hopes to see some centres of excellence created, based on Northern Ireland’s economic profile. Micro-finance is one area which could lend itself to this.
The case
America has always had a “very strong interest” in Northern Ireland and he was pleased that 15 Fortune 500 companies expressed their interest in investment during the December trade mission to Boston and New York.
“American companies will invest in Northern Ireland for the same reasons they’ll invest anywhere else. Is there a compelling business case? Is there is a compelling business environment? Are they given the incentives for being able to come? And have they got access to the right kinds of capital and workforce? And in the case of Northern Ireland, the answer is yes.”
However, the biggest challenge is to make people understand that Northern Ireland has changed. Americans have been accustomed to coverage of the Troubles whereas life today is much better on the ground.
Visiting Northern Ireland each month, he tries to go to a different part of the region each time. Stops so far have included Derry, Newry, Enniskillen and Limavady. Kelly meets political leaders as well as businesspeople. His particular focus, though, is on businesses which are trying to trade with America.
“We’re already helping a large number of companies investigate opportunities here [in the USA] and several of them, for example, are looking for help in the procurement area where the American Government may be involved.”
Politics
Early devolution of policing and justice was strongly backed by the US Administration and Kelly was among those welcoming the Hillsborough Agreement. It sent out a “clear message” to investors that Northern Ireland was continuing to make “tremendous progress in becoming one of the most attractive in the world for inward investment and economic development.”
It was suggested to Kelly that linking the political move with investment implied that Northern Ireland was ‘not good enough’ without justice devolution. That’s not the case, he responded.
“I mean Northern Ireland has been on the front pages of newspapers and television all over the world for 30 years because of the wrong reasons, and [in] the last 10 years it’s managed to emerge from that and do what it needed to do in order to get on a stronger footing and move forward,” Kelly stated.
“And I think the devolution of policing and justice sends a message to the world that Northern Ireland is moving forward, is only interested in moving in one direction and that’s in the right direction. And it sends a message to potential investors that it’s a safe and stable environment in which to do business over the longer term, and that’s one of the reasons why people will come there.”
A protectionist President?
“It is time to finally slash the tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas, and give those tax breaks to companies that create jobs right here in the United States of America.”
Barack Obama’s comments in the his first State of the Union address drew applause from Congress but appear to sit uneasily with his administration’s stated plans to promote investment in Northern Ireland. The address on 27 January (pictured) majored on American jobs for American workers, of whom almost one in 10 are unemployed.
Kelly was asked if this policy could put inward investment at risk but said he had come across no objections to investing from US companies so far. Every major multi-national deals with complex tax and operating environments around the world, he explained, and builds its portfolio around that.
“When we’re talking to these companies, they have no problem considering investing in Northern Ireland. They have no problem understanding the reasons why they should invest.”
Actual investment decisions depend on economic factors and whether a region’s profile matches up with the business’ aims. The envoy was also “very impressed” with Invest NI and Arlene Foster’s work to encourage inward investment.
“I can tell you that Northern Ireland presents itself equally, if not better than any region in the world … We have not yet had one situation where we’ve talked to an American company that didn’t appreciate the opportunities that exist if they wish to invest in Northern Ireland.”
