QPANI welcomes £200m jobs initiative

Northern Ireland Executive announces funding injection to protect the region’s economy and jobs

THE Quarry Products Association Northern Ireland (QPANI) has warmly welcomed the announcement by the Northern Ireland Executive of a £200 million economy and jobs initiative to support business and investment.

‘This announcement shows the Executive are listening not only to our organization, but to many others within the construction sector,’ commented Gordon Best, regional director of QPANI.

In particular, Mr Best welcomed: an additional £10 million for roads maintenance; investment in the schools estate; an additional £8 million for the co-ownership scheme in this financial year and a further £10 million of additional funding for 2013/14 and 2014/15; and investment in tourism infrastructure.

‘All these initiatives will sustain and create new employment within the construction materials supply sector,’ said Mr Best. ‘The employment and economic multiplier benefits that investment in infrastructure can bring to the local economy are well documented. Construction provides 28.5 jobs per £1 million of output.’

However, while commending the Executive for listening and acting, Mr Best said much more still needed to be done, including:

• Urgent changes to the planning system to speed up planning and delivery of important economic and job-creating projects.
• Urgent action by government construction and large private sector clients to stop sub-economic tendering and improve cash flow into the construction industry supply chain.
• Continued pressure on banks to improve credit availability.
• An end to the ‘not in my back yard’ mentality of many in Northern Ireland.
• Urgent action to increase the use of private finance in infrastructure investment, as is currently happening in other regions of the UK.
• Urgent reappraisal of the Green New Deal, which QPANI continues to believe offers good opportunities to leverage new jobs, reduce energy costs, and improve the comfort of homes.

Mr Best added that recent news of the Patton Group going into administration was only part of a jig-saw puzzle that was, as yet, incomplete but would no doubt reveal a very dark picture when other pieces were added in the coming months, unless decisive action is taken both by the construction industry and government.

‘The challenge for us all is to work together collectively to ensure that the Northern Ireland economy and our quality of life emerges enhanced, revitalized and stronger from these challenging times,’ he said. ‘Let’s not waste this crisis – out of challenge should come opportunity.’