Debate resumed on amendment to motion:

That this Assembly recognises the significant economic opportunities available in the north-west in areas such as health and life sciences, renewable energy, regulated manufacturing and fintech; notes the significant potential benefits of dual market access for each of those sectors; further notes the potential of a Derry-Letterkenny economic corridor as a key driver of regional growth; calls on the Minister for the Economy to work with Executive colleagues and counterparts in the Irish Government to develop an economic task force for the north-west city region, ensuring coordinated investment, infrastructure improvements, skills development and sectoral growth initiatives on both sides of the border; and further calls on the Minister to work with Invest NI, InterTradeIreland, the north-west tertiary education cluster and the Industrial Development Agency Ireland (IDA Ireland) to produce, by September 2025, a joint strategy to attract inward investment, support local enterprise partnerships, and fully utilise the opportunities presented by dual market access. — [Ms McLaughlin.]

Which amendment was:

Leave out all after "fintech;" and insert: "notes that the Department for the Economy has been unable to present evidence of any significant benefits of dual market access for each of these sectors to date; further notes the potential of the Londonderry and Strabane city region city deal and inclusive future fund as a key driver of regional growth; calls on the Minister for the Economy to work with Executive colleagues and, where appropriate, counterparts in the Irish Government to coordinate investment, infrastructure improvements, skills development and sectoral growth initiatives for the north-west city region; and further calls on the Minister to work with Invest NI, InterTradeIreland and the north-west tertiary education cluster to produce plans to grow the skills, research and innovation capacity of the north-west city region, support local enterprise partnerships and fully utilise the opportunities presented by cross-border trade." — [Mr Brett.]

Junior Minister, you have up to 15 minutes if you so wish. Over to you.

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. Tá áthas orm a bheith ábalta labhairt thar ceann an Aire ar an ábhar tábhachtach seo.

[Translation: Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I am happy to be able to speak on behalf of the Minister on this important subject.]

The motion references the benefits of dual market access. Minister Archibald sends her apologies as she is in Berlin, in part to raise awareness among companies in Germany and the EU more broadly of that unique status. Invest NI has established a dedicated unit to capitalise on that opportunity, to support our indigenous businesses to grow their exports and to attract FDI opportunities. There are indications that local exporters are already benefiting. In 2023, our manufacturing exports to the EU increased by 17%. For Wales, the figure was 0%, while England experienced a decrease of 4%, and Scotland saw a decrease of 17%. That trend continued in 2024.

Minister Archibald continues to deliver the economic vision set out by her predecessor, Minister Murphy. His vision statement identified regional balance as one of four priorities and specifically referred to the north-west as an area with "huge potential for growth." The motion references the need for various partners to come together to drive economic development in the region. A local economic partnership is being set up for that purpose. It will identify the key economic priorities for Derry and Strabane, which will undoubtedly include asks of Departments and the Irish Government. For example, a long-standing ask of the Department for the Economy has been that more be invested in City of Derry Airport. The airport plays a vital role by providing the north-west with connectivity to other parts of Europe and the rest of the world through its London Heathrow route. The Department for the Economy aims to assume responsibility for airport policy and, subsequently, from 1 April 2025, the provision of funding to Derry City and Strabane District Council for the future sustainability of City of Derry Airport. That will lift the burden from local ratepayers and enable the council to reinvest about £3 million in funding initiatives to support regional balance. Membership of the partnership is primarily a matter for the council, but I expect cross-border links to be recognised and the organisations mentioned in the motion to be considered.

Although the motion refers to skills, it does not specifically mention the Magee expansion, which will be a key driver of economic development in Derry and the broader north-west region. A comprehensive plan to achieve 10,000 students by 2032 has been published, and, last week, Minister Archibald announced that the land needed for those 10,000 students had been acquired. The Department for the Economy also supports a number of cross-border skills projects through the PEACE PLUS skills development investment programme. Those projects involve as prominent partners Ulster University, North West Regional College, Atlantic Technological University and the Donegal Education and Training Board.

Other important initiatives that are not mentioned in the motion are the city and growth deal projects. Those will invest £293 million in key sectors such as tourism, advanced manufacturing, digital innovation, life and health sciences and clean energy. In addition, the Inclusive Future Fund will see a further investment of £110 million, with £55 million coming from the British Government and £55 million in match funding from the Executive.

As a result of those and many other developments, a powerful value proposition is emerging in the north-west. The motion reflects many of the positive developments that are already under way, and I hope that we can continue to work together to realise the economic potential of the region.

Thank you very much indeed, Minister. I call on Gary Middleton to make a winding-up speech on the amendment. You have five minutes.

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I very much welcome the opportunity to discuss the north-west, job creation and our economy.

I speak as somebody who was born and bred in Londonderry and who is very proud of the place that I represent. I have now been elected for 15 years and have served in the council and here at the Assembly. It gives me great pleasure to see some of the changes in my constituency. There has been huge change since 2010 not just in the transformation of the landscape but in the fact that young people now have opportunities that I did not have just a number of years ago.

My colleague Mr Brett outlined our party position on our amendment, which I believe strengthens the motion. The city deal is the single biggest UK Government investment in our city — it is over £300 million — and not mentioning it is a glaring omission from the motion. The city deal project is a catalyst. It does not solve all the ills, but it is a game changer for development in our city and in some of the innovative projects that we will see come forward, not least the expansion of Magee university.

It is important to highlight another issue in the SDLP's contribution. One member of that party mentioned:

"change is rarely delivered by those in power" here at the Assembly or in Belfast. That is a fundamental mistake. In fact, when we look over the years that the Assembly was in operation, we see that the change has been transformational, not least in the Waterside at Ebrington, with the new hotel that has been built, the innovative businesses that are on-site and the Derry/Londonderry North Atlantic (DNA) maritime museum, which is to come on field fairly soon. That collaboration, which has involved working among ourselves as elected representatives in the Assembly and working closely with Londonderry Chamber of Commerce, the strategic growth partnership and Invest NI, will deliver change and make a real difference.

I very much share the concern of my colleague from East Londonderry Mr Bradley about the north-west package and making sure that the north-west goes right along and includes the Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council area. It has a significant part to play in growing the north-west economy. When we look at measures to grow the economy across Northern Ireland and talk about task forces, we need to ensure that every part of Northern Ireland grows and that we succeed in creating the maximum potential right across Northern Ireland.

I will turn to some of the contributions. As I said, Ms McLaughlin, in opening, talked about the need for special intervention. I do not doubt that we need special intervention across a number of areas where there are clearly particular problems, as identified in the regional balance report. My colleague Mr Brett highlighted the success of the city deal investment that this party proudly championed. Pádraig Delargy talked about the role that his party played in realising the change in the airport, the upgrade of the A5 and other pieces of infrastructure. Such cross-party working is vital for ensuring that each Department delivers within its particular roles and responsibilities. Kate Nicholl said that the pace of delivery is slow but recognised her party's belief that there are opportunities in dual market access. Diana Armstrong spoke on the same theme but also highlighted the fact that, if a specific task force were set up for the north-west, there would be an impact on her constituency, and she considered what that would mean. I very much share her concerns. As someone who represents the north-west, I think that it is important that other areas in the west are not left behind. My colleague Mr Bradley talked about the importance of his constituency, and I commend him for being a tireless champion for that area. It is regrettable that he seemed to be the only one who talked about the East Londonderry constituency during the debate. My colleague Mr Honeyford from the Alliance Party talked about the Shared Island approach on key issues. As a party, we will not shy away. Where there are opportunities to work together, we need to do that but, obviously, not with a particular political agenda.

My time has run out.

I call Matthew O'Toole to make a winding-up speech on the motion. Matthew, you have up to 10 minutes.

Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. What a useful and interesting debate we have had on the first motion of our SDLP Opposition day on job creation and cross-border cooperation in the north-west. There have been lots of constructive comments and a little bit of sniping. That is fine. We are the Opposition, and we do our own constructive, robust accountability for others, so, as it were, we can take it when others have criticisms for us. That is fine. I will address some of them.

Let me start by addressing one of the repeated things that came up a lot in the debate, which is, "Why just Derry?". First of all, this is about the wider north-west, and the motion is very clear about that. We have two excellent representatives for East Derry and West Tyrone, and they will speak today for the wider north-west. We are proud of our party's standing up for the wider north-west, with Derry at its heart, including Strabane, Coleraine and that whole wider region and, indeed, the wider cross-border region. We make no apology for putting this on the agenda here at Stormont today in a way that the north-west has not always been on the agenda at Stormont. I say that as a South Belfast representative but one who has Derry roots. My mum is from Derry. I know that city very well. It is part of me too. There is no contradiction in me being leader of the Opposition, a South Belfast MLA, someone who is originally from County Down and standing up for Derry and the wider north-west. I have no difficulty doing that at all, and I am slightly bemused to hear representatives stand up and say, "Why not this place? Why is the SDLP talking about that? Why is the SDLP talking about this?". We are doing so because it matters. These things matter, and we make no apology for talking about them.

I will come on to addressing some of the comments, but I want to set a broader historical and geographic context for why all this matters. The historical context is that, 60 years ago last month, the Lockwood report was published and brought to this Building when it housed the old Northern Ireland Parliament. It failed to deliver a university to Derry — or Londonderry, if you prefer — which is Northern Ireland's second city or the capital of Ireland's north-west or however you prefer to talk about that city. It failed that city at that point. That was part of a longer failure of that city but also the wider region, which includes Strabane and the wider north-west. It was a critical part of the criticism of that old — bluntly — Stormont regime and Northern Ireland Government and, indeed, the situation that had pertained since the partition of Ireland and the creation of Northern Ireland. I am not harping on those as old subjects, but I am clearly willing to set them out as part of the historical context for why we are debating these issues.

There is also a geographic context. By the way, however, if you really want a historical context, go back and pick up 'Das Kapital', because the only Irish and, indeed, one the few UK cities mentioned in 'Das Kapital', which was written by Karl Marx, is Derry and its Tillie and Henderson's shirt factory: the industrial and economic lineage. People are looking at me bemusedly, but this stuff does matter. It is a proud city, and we have no qualms about standing up and demanding the best possible future for that city and that region. <BR/>The wider region has been failed for too long, but it is also doing really well. It has huge potential. It has huge opportunities and brilliant businesses operating in that region. A few people mentioned the city deal and asked why we did not talk about the city deal. It is a bit churlish to pick out every single word that is not mentioned in the motion and complain that it is not there. As Mr Brett acknowledged, we have been strong supporters of the city deal the whole way through. As with every other party in the Chamber, we were determined that that money would be un-paused and that those projects, which will, hopefully, be transformational for Derry and, indeed, Strabane, would be un-paused. The Riverine project is a significant part of that deal too. We were proud and happy to work with other parties in the Assembly to deliver that.

Dual market access is so important, because it is a unique selling point for the region. I am fairly certain — check Hansard — that I was the first Member to use the phrase "dual market access" in the Chamber. Now they are all talking about it. I have been championing it for a long time, as has the SDLP. We are convinced that it can be transformational for our region.

Some Members mentioned the remarks of the chief executive of Invest NI. The chief executive of Invest NI and Invest NI more generally are selling that proposition. I am happy to acknowledge what he said in Committee, but he did not say at any point — the DUP can correct me — that there was no ability to sell Northern Ireland on the basis of its dual market access. He acknowledged that, in the few years for which we have had that differential proposition, we have not had those specific investments, but those investments take a long time and are based on political stability. Guess what — hint, hint, DUP — we have not had a lot of political stability in this place.

I will move on to some of the other comments. Pádraig Delargy was right to say that investment in the north-west benefits the entire region and, indeed, the entire island of Ireland and that it has to be on a cross-border basis. That it why our motion calls for a cross-border task force. The Prosperity Commission was an absurd group of Brexiteers who were bemused as to why lots of us thought that a hard border on the island of Ireland was a bad idea. When they looked at the north-west, they said grandly that they were satisfied that the wider north-west — Derry and Donegal — was an integrated economic unit. Despite what people say about the awful consequences of the protocol, even that group of English Brexiteers said, "This is one region economically, and the international border in the middle of it does not really represent either its potential or how people live on an everyday basis". That is why we make no apology for suggesting a cross-border task force. I think that Kate Nicholl asked whether that would duplicate the growth partnership: it does not. Look at the example of the Magee task force: we commended the Minister for creating it. Creating a focused, concentrated task force — the clue is in the name — that operates on a time-limited basis with a remit to suggest focused policy levers is a different intervention from an ongoing growth partnership, albeit the north-west growth partnership does important work, and we commend it and, obviously, work with it.

As I said, Pádraig said that north-west investment benefits the whole island: he is right. He also talked about the importance of cross-border economic policymaking: I agree with him. That is why I am depressed to see that Sinn Féin Ministers did not get more of that into the Programme for Government. Sinn Féin Ministers control all three major economic Departments — the Economy Department, the Finance Department and the Infrastructure Department — in the region. You would not think that from reading the document, because it has the fingerprints, I am afraid, of DUP policymaking on it. In fact, at page 85, it puts the North/South Ministerial Council and InterTradeIreland, which were created by the Good Friday Agreement and are underpinned by international law, on the same footing as the East-West Council and Intertrade UK, which are organisations that came out of a grubby secret deal between the DUP and the Tory Government. They are not the same as cross-border bodies created by the Good Friday Agreement, and it was depressing to read that in the Programme for Government. While I acknowledge that Pádraig was right in what he said, it was disappointing not to see more of it in the Programme for Government.

Maurice Bradley talked about delivering for Coleraine. We want to deliver for Coleraine . I have a colleague who stands up for Coleraine every day in the Chamber. There is nothing in our motion that suggests that we do not want delivery for Coleraine too; indeed the wider north-west is what the motion is about. That includes Coleraine, Strabane, Letterkenny and Gaoth Dobhair

[Translation: Gweedore]

. It includes all of those places, because that is one economic unit, and we want to see it reach its full potential.

The Minister talked about many of the positive investments and developments: I welcome that. I also acknowledge that the Economy Minister is in Berlin, selling dual market access. I hope that, now that we know that, we will get an update from her and can hold her to account. Hopefully, she will deliver that. I welcome that. It is good that, finally, we have a Minister who is championing our dual market access.

Gary Middleton moved his party's amendment, which, I am afraid, we will not support, and was proud to stand up for the city that he represents and calls "home". Political differences aside, lots of people acknowledge that Gary cares intensely about his city. Lots of us care about it, but we also care about the wider north-west region. That is why we want to agree the motion and see more focused action from the Executive. That is not because we think that the Executive have not done anything for Derry or, indeed, other regions in this place but because we want more of it.

There has been a little bit of J D Vance today — "You should be grateful for what you have got" — as if the people of Derry and the north-west should say, "Thank you" for all that they have had: no. People of the north-west want more for their future, and they are exactly right to demand that. We in the SDLP Opposition will always stand up for them and everyone in the region. I commend the motion to the House.

Thank you very much, Matthew, for making your speech an elegy rather than a eulogy.

Did anybody get my joke?

A Member:

I did.

Thank you. Come on.

Question put, That the amendment be made.

The Assembly divided:

<SPAN STYLE="font-style:italic;"> Ayes 32; Noes 45

AYES

Mr Allen, Ms D Armstrong, Mr Beattie, Mr Bradley, Mr Brett, Mr Brooks, Mr K Buchanan, Mr T Buchanan, Mr Buckley, Ms Bunting, Mr Butler, Mrs Cameron, Mr Chambers, Mr Clarke, Mr Crawford, Mr Dunne, Mrs Erskine, Ms Forsythe, Mr Frew, Mr Gaston, Mr Givan, Mr Harvey, Mr Irwin, Mr Kingston, Mrs Little-Pengelly, Mr Lyons, Miss McIlveen, Mr Martin, Mr Middleton, Mr Nesbitt, Mr Stewart, Ms Sugden

Tellers for the Ayes: Mr Bradley, Mr Harvey

NOES

Ms K Armstrong, Mr Baker, Mr Blair, Mr Boylan, Miss Brogan, Mr Delargy, Mr Dickson, Mrs Dillon, Mr Donnelly, Mr Durkan, Ms Egan, Ms Ennis, Ms Ferguson, Ms Finnegan, Ms Flynn, Mr Gildernew, Mrs Guy, Miss Hargey, Mr Honeyford, Ms Hunter, Mr Kearney, Mr Kelly, Ms Kimmins, Mr McAleer, Miss McAllister, Mr McCrossan, Mr McGlone, Mr McGrath, Mr McGuigan, Mr McHugh, Ms McLaughlin, Mr McMurray, Mr McNulty, Mr McReynolds, Mrs Mason, Mr Muir, Ms Mulholland, Ms Murphy, Ms Ní Chuilín, Ms Nicholl, Mr O'Dowd, Mr O'Toole, Ms Reilly, Mr Sheehan, Ms Sheerin

Tellers for the Noes: Mr McCrossan, Ms McLaughlin

Question accordingly negatived.

Main Question put.

Resolved:

That this Assembly recognises the significant economic opportunities available in the north-west in areas such as health and life sciences, renewable energy, regulated manufacturing and fintech; notes the significant potential benefits of dual market access for each of those sectors; further notes the potential of a Derry-Letterkenny economic corridor as a key driver of regional growth; calls on the Minister for the Economy to work with Executive colleagues and counterparts in the Irish Government to develop an economic task force for the north-west city region, ensuring coordinated investment, infrastructure improvements, skills development and sectoral growth initiatives on both sides of the border; and further calls on the Minister to work with Invest NI, InterTradeIreland, the north-west tertiary education cluster and the Industrial Development Agency Ireland (IDA Ireland) to produce, by September 2025, a joint strategy to attract inward investment, support local enterprise partnerships, and fully utilise the opportunities presented by dual market access.

Before we move on to the next item, we will pause to allow a change at the top Table.

(Madam Principal Deputy Speaker in the Chair)