Economy of Northern Ireland

During The Troubles, Northern Ireland received little foreign investment.

Since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, investment in Northern Ireland has increased significantly. Most investment has been focused in Greater Belfast and to a lesser extent Greater Derry. Major projects include the £400 million Victoria Square retail development in Belfast City Centre. The city will host the largest waterfront development in Europe with the Titanic Quarter[11] scheme, costing over £1 billion and taking seven years to complete. The Laganside Corporation has been at the forefront of the redevelopment of the riverfront along the banks of the River Lagan, to date the corporation has overseen the investment of over £800 million in the riverside area. The Cathedral Quarter has also seen substantial investment. In Derry, the ILEX Urban Regeneration Company no longer exists. The area is 12th in terms of funding despite it being the second city. The Culture Company no longer exists.

In addition, the Department for the Economy has commissioned MATRIX, the Northern Ireland Science Industry Panel, to advise government on the commercial exploitation of R&D and science and technology in Northern Ireland.[12]

The Matrix Panel aims to grow NIs wealth by encouraging the exploitation of its science and R&D base. The work has shown that there is still a need for greater exploitation of science and technology and a step-change in innovation in the economy and workplaces.[13]

The Panel's recommendations are the result of a collaborative effort of technology industry leaders and experts in Northern Ireland.[14]

Agriculture in Northern Ireland is heavily mechanised, thanks to high labour costs and heavy capital investment, both from private investors and the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy. In 2000, agriculture accounted for 2.4% of economic output in Northern Ireland, compared to 1% in the United Kingdom as a whole.[15] As in the rest of the United Kingdom, livestock and dairy account for the majority of agricultural output. The main crops are (in descending order of value) potatoes, barley, and wheat.

Harland and Wolff cranes in Belfast

Heavy industry is concentrated in and around Belfast, although other major towns and cities also have heavy manufacturing areas. Machinery and equipment manufacturing, food processing, textile and electronics manufacturing are the leading industries. Other industries such as papermaking, furniture manufacturing, aerospace and shipbuilding are also important, concentrated mostly in the eastern parts of Northern Ireland. Of these different industries, one of the most notable is that of Northern Ireland's fine linens, which is considered as one of the most well known around Europe.

Although its share of economic output has declined, manufacturing output in Northern Ireland has remained almost unchanged over the past five years, after a period of steep manufacturing growth between 1998 and 2001.[16] However, this overall picture of health hides a dramatic shift in manufacturing priorities, with the decline of traditional industries, such as textiles and shipbuilding, at the expense of high tech and capital-intensive industries. In 2005, chemicals and engineering (both of which belong firmly to the latter group) were the only two manufacturing sub-sectors to record growth, whilst output of textiles fell by 18%.[17]

Engineering is the largest manufacturing sub-sector in Northern Ireland, particularly in the fields of aerospace and heavy machinery. Bombardier Aerospace is the province's largest industrial employer, with 5,400 workers at five sites in the Greater Belfast area.[18] Other major engineering employers in Northern Ireland include Caterpillar, DuPont, Emerson Electric, Fujitsu, Allstate NI, Seagate and NACCO. Many of these manufacturers receive British government financial backing, and enjoy close academic and business links with Queen's University Belfast and the University of Ulster. The former ranks as one of the best British universities for all engineering courses.[19]

Belfast's famous shipyard, Harland and Wolff, which in the early 20th century was the world's biggest shipbuilder, suffered from intense international competition during the 1970s and 1980s and declined rapidly. During the 1990s the company diversified into civil engineering and industrial fabrication, manufacturing bridges and oil platforms. The company made an unsuccessful bid to build the Queen Mary 2, which it was hoped would re-stimulate the yard's shipbuilding business. The vast works on Queen's Island were downsized, with much of the land (including the slipway where RMS Titanic was built) sold off for redevelopment in the 2000s as the 'Titanic Quarter'- a new residential, commercial and high-tech industrial district. The modern, smaller yard employs only 800 people. H&W have not built a ship since 2003, but has seen workload increase through being involved in shipbreaking, ship repair and maintenance and conversion work. The company has also been active in the design and construction of offshore power generation equipment- both wind turbines and wave-action turbines.

As with all developed economies, services account for the majority of employment and output. Services account for almost 70% of economic output, and 78% of employees.[20]

As of December 2008 the public sector in Northern Ireland accounted for 30.8% of the total workforce. This is significantly higher than the overall UK figure of 19.5%, and also higher than Scotland, the next nearest region at 24%. Overall, the figure for Northern Ireland has fallen. In 1992 the public sector accounted for 37% of the workforce. When measured relative to population, the gap between the Northern Ireland and UK figures reduces to three percentage points.[24]

In total in 2006, the British government subvention totalled £5,000m, or 20% of Northern Ireland's economic output.[25] This had risen to £11,547m in 2009–10 during the "Great Recession", and then fell back to £9,160m in 2013–14.[26] A 2017 article by a research professor at the Economic and Social Research Institute quantified the transfers at 10.8 billion Euro annually.[27] In late 2018 The Irish Times estimated that the subvention had risen to £10.8 billion, about a quarter of Northern Ireland's GDP.[28]

The official currency in use in Northern Ireland is the British pound sterling. Although the euro, in use in the Republic of Ireland, is accepted by retailing chains closer to the border with the Republic of Ireland.

In addition, four Northern Irish banks retain the right to print their own sterling-denominated banknotes: Bank of Ireland, First Trust Bank, Northern Bank, and Ulster Bank. The central bank of the UK as a whole is the Bank of England.

Northern Ireland's total primary energy consumption is approximately 4.90 million tonnes of oil equivalent. The vast majority of this energy comes from fossil fuels.

Energy policy in the province is maintained by the Department for the Economy.

George Best Belfast City Airport

Northern Ireland has a currently expanding transport infrastructure with most infrastructure concentrated on Greater Belfast, Greater Derry and Craigavon. Northern Ireland has a total of 24,820 km (15,420 mi) of roads, or 1 km for each 68 people (1 mi for each 109 people), which is considerably more than in the United Kingdom as a whole (1 km per 162 people).[31] There are seven motorways in Northern Ireland, extending radially from Belfast, and connecting that city to Antrim, Dungannon, Lisburn, Newtownabbey, and Portadown.

Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) runs passenger trains and presently carries no freight though it is possible to carry freight. NIR is owned by the people of Northern Ireland and has embarked upon significant investment on the Belfast-Derry railway line to upgrade the infrastructure between Belfast and Derry the largest cities in Northern Ireland. NIR connects Belfast Great Victoria Street and Lanyon Place to Antrim, Ballymena, Coleraine, Portrush, Derry along the Northern Corridor and the Belfast Suburban Rail network serves places near Belfast, along with the Enterprise (train service) connecting Lisburn, Portadown, Newry and across the border along the Dublin-Belfast railway line to Dublin Connolly.

Northern Ireland Railways could be extended by re-opening railway lines such as from Portadown to Armagh railway station in Armagh.

The Enterprise passing Poyntzpass.

Northern Ireland is home to three civilian airports: Belfast City, Belfast International, and City of Derry. In terms of Airport rail link connections only Belfast City Airport is served by train from Sydenham station on the Bangor Line.

Major seaports in Northern Ireland include the Port of Belfast, the Derry Port and the Port of Larne. The Port of Belfast is one of the chief ports of the United Kingdom, handling 17 million tonnes (16.7 million long tons) of goods in 2005,[32] equivalent to two-thirds of Northern Ireland's seaborne trade.

In addition to these existing links, several organisations have proposed a tunnel under the North Channel, with one possible site connecting the eastern part of Northern Ireland to Wigtownshire. The idea has been given technical consideration since the 19th century, but, as of 2012, no major political party has advocated such a link, due to financial constraints.

The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) is the principal source of official statistics on Northern Ireland. These statistics and research inform public policy and associated debate in the wider society. NISRA is an Agency of the Department of Finance and Personnel.[33]

Alongside official national statistics a number of respected private sector surveys are used to understand how the economy is performing. These include the British Chambers of Commerce Quarterly Economic Survey.[34] This survey has information on the performance of Northern Irish businesses since 1989.

• Economy of the Republic of Ireland
• Countries of the United Kingdom by GDP per capita

Northern Ireland Executive departments responsible for economic policy:

• Department for the Economy - oversees Invest Northern Ireland and Tourism Northern Ireland
• Department of Finance
• Department for Infrastructure
• Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs