Just when things were looking good for Northern Ireland, rioters once again took to the province’s streets. The images shown around the world earlier this month of loyalists hurling blast and petrol bombs at security forces in Belfast seemed like a return to the bad old days of the Troubles.
The situation, which left dozens of police and protesters injured, exasperated Peter Hain. He only took over the Northern Ireland secretary’s post in May – once considered the worst job in government because of the province’s history of strife. But Hain has also inherited a territory which has seen the highest levels of economic growth in the UK since the 1996 IRA ceasefire.
What Hain didn’t, and doesn’t, want to see is the past coming back to haunt the six counties. “Images of rioting, flashed across the world, damage the good name of Northern Ireland and we must all redouble our efforts to ensure that everyone knows about its many positives,” he says.
The positives are many. In the years after the IRA ceasefire, Northern Ireland has played catch-up with the rest of the UK. Nowhere is this more obvious than in Belfast. The city, which has a population catchment of around 350,000, has battled for the past 10 years to turn its image around from war-torn ghetto to cultured European city.
Peace bringing on progress
Peace was the vital foundation stone for multi-million-pound developments.
“I am proud of what has been achieved in Belfast in recent years. A significant amount of physical regeneration has taken place in the city centre around the waterfront. This has been taken forward by the Laganside Corporation, which was established in 1989,” says Hain.
He also points to what he calls “our current flagship project, Victoria Square” as another marker in Belfast’s renaissance. The 300,000 sq ft scheme, which aims to reconnect the regenerated waterfront and Laganside areas with the heart of the city centre, is now under construction and will open in autumn 2007. “These examples show how far we have come in Belfast and how much this city is changing for the better,” says Hain.
The big picture
But is the regeneration going far enough? Yes, says Hain, who splits his time between being Northern Ireland secretary of state and Welsh secretary. Belfast city centre is on the threshold of an exciting new era, he says.
“Victoria Square and Laganside are just the first steps in a much longer journey. In April 2004, the Department for Social Development published the Belfast City Centre Regeneration Policy Statement, which set out the government’s regeneration objectives for Belfast and the department’s approach to achieving the regeneration of the city centre.
“In August 2005, we adopted two masterplans for the north-east and north-west shopping quarters of our city centre. They identify locations for two large department stores plus retail opportunities for local independent traders and international brands new to the city.”
What about the rest of the province? It also suffered in the Troubles, and there are those in other towns who consider Belfast to be getting all the investment. Hain says that, apart from Belfast, there has been “significant regeneration work in many other cities and towns”.
“Government has supported successful economic, retail and tourist developments using various programmes.” As examples, the minister points to environmental improvements in large towns such as Banbridge, County Down, and Coleraine, County Londonderry, and in smaller towns such as Ballycastle, County Antrim, Portrush, County Londonderry, and Tandragee and Toome in County Antrim.
“Looking to the future, the government is currently taking forward two major environmental improvements and public realm works in Omagh, County Tyrone, and Enniskillen, County Fermanagh, and is involved in detailed planning work in many more.”
Realistically, all these projects will work only when there is sufficient investment to keep jobs in the province.
Attracting more investment
When asked if more inward investment should be encouraged, and whether it should come through foreign investment, Hain points to Invest Northern Ireland’s role in attracting businesses to the region.
He highlights how Citigroup, Yell, Caterpillar and Oracle have all come to the province in the past year. “Invest NI maintains a network of offices around the world focused on promoting the business benefits of Northern Ireland,” says Hain, adding that 2004-05 has been Invest NI’s most successful year to date.
“INI has won 17 new foreign direct investment projects offering the potential of 1,905 jobs and representing a total investment of £57.9m. In line with Invest NI’s commitment to support disadvantaged areas, 71% of the new inward investment projects secured were directed to such areas.”
Hain also points out the close contacts that Northern Ireland has with the Republic of Ireland, in terms of trade at least. The Republic is, in fact, Northern Ireland’s largest export market with sales in 2003-04 of £1.1bn – representing almost a quarter of the north’s exports – an increase of 12% on the previous year. Imports from the Republic are valued at £1.2bn.
“The NI survey of manufacturing sales shows around 250 NI companies selling in the Republic, but the actual figure is likely to be much higher as the activity of many small businesses is not measured,” says Hain.
He adds that Northern Ireland is working with the Republic on the development of an all-island energy market. “The aim is to provide competitive, sustainable and reliable markets in electricity and natural gas on the island of Ireland at the minimum cost necessary. The market must operate in the context of the EU internal energy market and should deliver long-term economic and social benefits that are mutually advantageous to Northern Ireland and to the Republic.”
Apart from the economic measures, what the people of Northern Ireland really want to see is the Northern Ireland Assembly being reinstated.
“The honest answer on time scale [of the assembly coming back] is that I don’t know,” says Hain. “I’m not going to make predictions. What I am prepared to say is that I’m an optimist. I hope that it will be sooner rather than later.”
Hain adds that he believes there is now the real possibility of political progress towards the goal of devolved government in Northern Ireland.
“There is an important role for government to play in bringing people together, sensitive to their different perceptions of decisions and developments in Northern Ireland.
“But the primary responsibility to seize the opportunity we now have to get back on track towards devolution rests with the parties. If the words in the IRA’s statement of 28 July 2005 are borne out in actions, there will be a heavy responsibility on all politicians in Northern Ireland to ensure that that opportunity to establish stable and inclusive institutions is not squandered.”
