Further research commissioned into NI competitiveness

"Strengthening the competitive position of Northern Ireland as a good place in which to do business is vital to securing continued economic growth," according to NIO Enterprise, Trade and Investment Minister Ian Pearson.

Addressing the annual dinner of the CBI / IBEC Joint Business Council in Stormont’s Parliament Buildings, Mr Pearson said: "In order to monitor the Northern Ireland economy’s competitive position, I have commissioned detailed research from the newly-formed Economic Research Institute of Northern Ireland (ERINI). This research will form part of ERINI’s core work programme. It will benchmark the performance of the Northern Ireland economy against other regions; examine the competitiveness of key sectors and update and extend work on the cost of doing business.

"This research exercise will run on an annual basis and will be vital in monitoring progress and identifying areas for improvement. We will also look to ERINI to act as a catalyst in increasing the capacity for research of local policy relevance within the local universities.”

Mr Pearson congratulated the members of the Joint Business Council for their development of North/South economic and business links, and pointed out that cross border trade has almost doubled in the last 10 years.

"Provisional data for 2002/03 shows that the value of goods sold to the Republic increased by almost 7 per cent over the previous year to £1billion," he said. "It is increasingly obvious that, despite the prevailing difficult global economic circumstances, businesses on both sides of the border are realising the opportunities that lie on their doorsteps"

The Minister also welcomed the Joint Business Council’s recent statement supporting the creation of an all-island energy market which he said would be beneficial to industrial, business and domestic customers.

(SP)