Northern Ireland Community Relations Council - About Us - Press Releases - Division a bigger threat to future of NI economy than global crisis

27 April 2009

Business leaders support efforts to tackle segregation

Failing to tackle Northern Ireland’s legacy of division would present a bigger threat to the future success of the local economy than the current global financial crisis, the chief executive of Northern Ireland’s Community Relations Council (CRC) warns today (Monday April 27).

Speaking at the beginning of Community Relations Week (April 27 to May 2), which features more than 140 events, Duncan Morrow says that the legacy of the Troubles continues to weigh very heavily on Northern Ireland’s limited resources.

He says too that creativity and investment only flourish where there is stability and significant hope for the future and that the perpetuation of division in Northern Ireland will continue to put a question mark in the minds of potential investors.

Dr Morrow says: “Northern Ireland has made huge advances in moving towards peace and the economy has seen important benefits of that over the course of the last 10 years or so. However there remains a deep legacy of division which continues to hamper the economy and present significant threats for the future.”

“In addition to using up resources and deterring investment, the legacy of division also impacts on the availability of labour and skills. A successful economy needs a mobile workforce and unhindered access to employment. At present division in Northern Ireland compromises this. The legacy of the past also contributes to the continued loss of talented people out of our economy,” Dr Morrow continues.

“If Northern Ireland’s future is to be prosperous and secure, it must be shared and peaceful. Significant action must therefore be taken now to tackle the legacy of division in order to ensure that future economic opportunities can be fully taken advantage of. In short, tackling the legacy of the past is a significant investment in the opportunities of the future,” Dr Morrow adds.

The flagship event of Community Relations Week is a conference in Newtownabbey on Thursday - backed by business bodies - which examines the importance of community relations in building a successful economy. The keynote speaker is well-known business leader Sir Roy McNulty. Contributions are also being made by a range of speakers and panellists from government, the public sector, the business community and the voluntary and community sectors.

Ann McGregor, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry, who is one of the panellists at the Community Relations Week conference on Thursday, says: “There are a wide range of consequences of continued division for the business community. As an organisation, we recognise and support the need to address this in order to create the most suitable environment for the business sector to thrive in the future.”

Supporting the Community Relations Council’s calls for a greater focus on tackling segregation, Ben Collins, the Director of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in Northern Ireland, says: “There is significant duplication in Northern Ireland as a result of division which costs our society dear. Tackling this is imperative in order to ensure a sustainable future where Northern Ireland’s resources are put to best use.”

Bob Barbour, the chief executive of the Centre for Competitiveness, which is supporting the Community Relations Week conference on the economy, says: “There is no doubt that division has a negative impact on competitiveness as well as foreign direct investment. Business requires a streamlined and stable framework in which to operate and this is impeded by division.”

Community Relations Week is organised and coordinated by the Community Relations Council and features events run by a wide range of organisations. The theme of the week this year is Community Relations, Stability and the Economy. More information on the week can be obtained from www.nicrc.org.uk.

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