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PROCEEDINGS OF THE SUB-GROUP TO CONSIDER THE ECONOMIC CHALLENGES FACING NORTHERN IRELAND Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday, 21 September 2006 in Room 135, Parliament Buildings at 10.00am. In the Chair: David McClarty Present: Roy Beggs Jnr In Attendance: Shane McAteer (Clerk) The meeting commenced at 10.05am in closed session. 1. Apologies Dr. Alasdair McDonnell MP (Mr Dallat attended the meeting as SDLP representative in place of Dr McDonnell). Sean Neeson (Mr McCarthy attended the meeting as Alliance representative in place of Mr Neeson). 2. Draft Minutes of Meeting on 14 September 2006 These were agreed for publication on the Assembly’s website. 3. Matters Arising Members agreed that Hansard should record future meetings from the start of the open session, omitting the administrative business conducted in closed session at the start of each meeting. It was noted that any decisions reached in this part of the meeting would be recorded as usual in the minutes of proceedings. Members noted that the Committee on the Preparation for Government had approved the sub-group’s request that the quorum should be reduced to five members, excluding the Chairperson, with the proviso that a representative from each party is present. Ms Gildernew joined the meeting at 10.13am. Members noted that the Committee had not yet considered the sub-group’s request, urging the Secretary of State and his Ministers to respond promptly to the first report. Members noted information on the distribution of press releases by the Assembly. Members noted the correspondence to the Secretary of State, as agreed at the last meeting, requesting a full report on North/South economic collaboration through the British/Irish Intergovernmental Conference. Members considered a response form David Hanson, MP on the Industrial Derating Working Group and agreed to seek further information including whether the Group’s interim conclusions could be issued to the sub-group before its deadline for reporting to the Committee on the Preparation for Government. Members considered a response from the Secretary of Sate in relation to the sub-group’s request for DETI officials to give further evidence on the new terms of reference. It was agreed to respond, seeking further clarification and expressing the sub-group’s disappointment that the Secretary of State would not grant access to DETI officials. 4. Evidence Received Members noted further information from the Industrial Task Force and ERINI following last week’s evidence sessions. Members noted a written submission from UU Tech. Members noted advice from Assembly Legal services on the scope for varying corporation tax in Northern Ireland. The meeting continued in open session at 10.30am. 5. Evidence Session The sub-group took evidence from David Dobbin, Seamus McAleavey and Michael Maguire from the Economic Development Forum. Mr Weir joined the meeting at 11.10am. 6. Review of Evidence by Economic Advisors Mr Michael Smyth presented his paper reviewing the evidence to date. The meeting was suspended at 12.15pm. 7. Presentations by the Political Parties on the Economic Package Mr Ford presented a paper on behalf of the Alliance party. Mr Weir presented a paper on behalf of the DUP. Ms Ritchie presented a paper on behalf of the SDLP. Dr Birnie presented a paper on behalf of the UUP. It was noted that Sinn Fein’s paper was not yet completed but would be submitted as soon as possible. Mr McNarry joined the meeting at 2.17pm. Members agreed to write to DFP officials to request information on public expenditure figures for Northern Ireland for 2008/09 – 2010/11. 8. Evidence Session The sub-group took evidence from John Simpson. Mr Weir left the meeting at 3.30pm. 9. Focus Group session to agree Key Themes for Second Report Mr Smyth facilitated a discussion to agree the key themes for inclusion in the sub-group’s second report on how an economic package/peace dividend could contribute to economic regeneration. Mr McNarry left the meeting at 4.32pm. 10. Any Other Business Members noted that a draft report would be issued for consideration at the next meeting. It was also noted that amendments to papers submitted by the political parties would need to be submitted by Monday 25 September for inclusion in the draft report. 11. Date, Time and Place of Next Meeting The next meeting of the sub-group was arranged for Thursday 28 September 2006 at 10.00am. The meeting adjourned at 4.40pm. |