Analysis

January 2022

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John Simpson Opinion Problems need solved with NI Protocol

The Northern Ireland Protocol needs to be softened so that goods from Great Britain coming to NI are less affected by the need for trade formalities.

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Richard Kirk Opinion It’s time we integrated the education and skills system in NI

It came as a shock to my two primary school age children that Disney+ has not always existed.

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John Simpson Opinion NI remains a long way from Net Zero

To adopt serious climate change policies, our lifestyles, consumer habits and our relations with the environment must change.

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Another year of e-commerce growth

Last year saw a shift in behaviour that many analysts predict may have changed our online shopping habits forever.

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Prof John Turner and Dr David Jordan Opinion Productivity is 2022’s biggest challenge

Last year was a roller coaster for the local economy as the coronavirus pandemic dominated the immediate economic outlook.

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John Simpson Opinion How we can sustain NI farm incomes

The UK’s life outside the EU officially started just a year ago with the end of the Brexit transition period.

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December 2021

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John Simpson Opinion Fiscal body can’t ignore corporation tax

The Northern Ireland Fiscal Commission, chaired by Paul Johnson, has opened what it hopes will be an important discussion about the potential for changes in the level and scale of different taxes here.

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Alan Campbell Opinion ‘There’s a lot to do in the next eight years to implement Northern Ireland's new energy strategy’

When Northern Ireland’s new energy strategy hit email inboxes on Thursday, the countdown to 2030 began.

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Barry White Opinion Brexit: it’s about to get a whole lot worse

If you thought you’d seen the worst of the Brexit upheavals to shopping and business, think again. Next year they are due to get worse, much worse.

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John Simpson Opinion Protocol working despite the politics

On January 1 2021, the UK ceased to be a member of the EU. That dramatic change had wide-ranging consequences.

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Gareth Herron Opinion Angel investing about using your experience for good...

Anyone who has been involved in business angel investment will tell you it’s not about making a quick buck..

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November 2021

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Esmond Birnie Opinion Is Brexit protocol really helping Northern Ireland economy? It’s much too early to say

Years ago, someone said trying to manage a modern economy is a bit like trying to drive the car when both the front and rear windows are covered over.

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John Simpson Opinion Electricity system upgrade will cost

Northern Ireland needs to begin to make the changes that will meet our clean energy targets and convert the working of the economy to rely much less on harmful gaseous emissions.

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Glyn Roberts Opinion Our town centres must be at heart of community

Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope’, wrote Martin Luther King Jr in the 1960s.

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John Simpson Opinion Top 100 firms highlights resilience

As part of a continuing process of monitoring the performance of local businesses, a large scale review of the annual financial results for the larger Northern Ireland registered companies has been completed.

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Angela McGowan Opinion NI firms going from strength to strength despite challenging times

Each year I enjoy sitting down to write my thoughts on the latest Top 100 Northern Ireland businesses because it reminds me just how many local companies are moving from strength-to-strength despite the challenging backdrop.

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Richard Ramsey Opinion The weirdest recession in history will have more uncertainty in store

The so-called Global Uncertainty Index hit a record high in 2019 before the word coronavirus had even entered our consciousness.

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Stephen Kelly Opinion Brexit and a pandemic can’t stop the march of Northern Ireland’s makers

It is often commented that we are a resilient people but if evidence were required to confirm that, then the past year proves it.

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Ann McGregor​​​​​​​ Opinion It’s time for Northern Ireland to plan for a more digital future

Against many odds, businesses in Northern Ireland have proven themselves to be resilient and reliable, even when faced with the myriad of challenges that the past two years have presented.

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Andrew Webb Opinion Is Northern Ireland’s economic recovery built to last?

A little over a year ago the conversation in economic circles was fixated on the ‘recovery alphabet’.

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John Simpson Opinion Trends in the labour market in flux

In a welcome change, Northern Ireland now has many employers advertising vacancies for qualified new employees.

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John Simpson Opinion Stormont’s finances are hard to follow

Keeping in touch with the detail of (and changes in) the financing of the regional Government in Northern Ireland is not easy.

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John Simpson Opinion NI is lagging behind in green debate

Has Northern Ireland still not woken up to the real nature of the COP 26 debate?

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Sherena Deveney Opinion How Health and Social Care Levy will impact businesses

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the Government has announced the introduction of the Health and Social Care Levy (HSC Levy) effective from April 2022.

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October 2021

Paul Stapleton Opinion Why vulnerable customers are the at the heart of NIE Networks’ focus

It is said that the true judge of any modern civilised society is not how healthy and happy the majority are, but how we treat those without the means to look after themselves.

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John Simpson Opinion Mixed outlook for the hotel industry

Investment in hotels in Northern Ireland has reached high levels in the last decade.

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Simon Hamilton Opinion Why time is here for rates reform

For two years, I was responsible for Northern Ireland’s rating system in my then role as Finance Minister. I remember, during one of the many Assembly debates about rates, paraphrasing Winston Churchill’s famous quote about democracy by describing our rates system as the worst form of local taxation except for all the rest.

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John Simpson Opinion Fiscal commission faces big questions

The special Northern Ireland Fiscal Commission will shortly issue its awaited first report. It’s been charged with considering how devolution to Stormont of further powers to vary the application of taxation in Northern Ireland might be used to generate better outcomes.

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September 2021

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John Simpson Opinion Electricity supply decision is urgent

Making long-term policy decisions on how Northern Ireland gets security of electricity supplies at best competitive prices poses difficult questions..

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John Simpson Opinion Translink services may be normalising

Translink has had an extremely challenging year but it has now emerged with positive news.