Paul Stapleton, Managing Director of NIE Networks talks to Owen McQuade about the challenges in running an electricity network business and how the grid is facilitating the transition to a low carbon energy future. NIE Networks operate the electricity distribution network in Northern Ireland. It is an extensive network of 47,000 km with around 300...
Head of Energy Strategy Division in the Department for the Economy, Joe Reynolds, discusses the challenges facing the development of a future energy strategy for Northern Ireland and the trends affecting its perceived outcomes. Contextualising energy policy in Northern Ireland as being currently caught between the 2010 Strategic Energy Framework and the development of a...
Katy Hayward of Queen’s University Belfast offers her reflections on Brexit, borders and their potential impacts on criminal justice co-operation in Ireland. Opening her presentation, Hayward suggests that many questions remain unresolved in relation to the impact of Brexit on security and criminal justice cooperation in Ireland. Indeed, throughout her analysis she notes that the...
Paul Wickens, Chief Executive of Enterprise Shared Services (ESS) for the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS), discusses the journey of digital government in Northern Ireland to date and offers some insight on the future roadmap of three new key strategies. Paul Wickens outlines that a lot has changed since the original concept of nidirect and...
‘Some good news, but challenging times ahead,’ writes Gareth Hetherington, Director of the Ulster University Economic Policy Centre, an independent economic research unit based in the Ulster University Business School. The local...
A thriving economy is at the heart of every vibrant, harmonious society. And a thriving society is at the heart of every vibrant, harmonious economy, writes Anne Donaghy, Chief Executive of Mid...
Northern Ireland’s productivity doesn’t only rely on resources and investment. It also requires a skilled, stable and motivated workforce, writes economist Paul Mac Flynn. Productivity has become one of the most concerning...
Michael Scott, Managing Director of Northern Ireland’s only integrated natural gas distribution and supply company, firmus energy, outlines the company’s 2019-2022 development plans. Natural Gas will become available to an additional 48,000...
Economic output in Northern Ireland declined sharply with the financial crisis and since then it has flatlined with output in real terms [GVA] failing to recover to pre-crash levels, writes Owen McQuade....
Northern Ireland’s high rate of economic inactivity, when compared to the rest of the UK, is being masked by one of lowest ever rates of unemployment, writes David Whelan. The latest Labour...
Gillian Somerville, Director of HR and Corporate Services at Radius Housing Association discusses the organisation’s first 18 months in operation and Radius’ approach to successfully delivering the merger. Radius Housing Association, formed...
Former Minister for Employment and Learning Stephen Farry tells David Whelan that Northern Ireland’s economic performance is being hindered by a legacy of structural problems which have yet to be addressed. “There...
The price of new build houses has continued to rise across 2018, to a point which is now 19.7 per cent higher than that of Q1 2015. That is according to recent...
The tourism economy in Northern Ireland is expected to build on a record-breaking year in 2017. Early indicators for tourism performance from the first three month of 2018 suggest that Northern Ireland...
