THE president of Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry has stressed the need for more of the same ‘collaborative vision’ that saw industries grow following the Good Friday Agreement.
And he said he believed the regional can assemble the ingredients and create its own version of Brand Singapore.
John Healy was addressing more than 500 guests from business and politics at the Chamber's annual lunch at Belfast City Hall.
He said: “We need action on the economy, on infrastructure, on health - addressing the drastic shortage of clinical nurses, for example - or on education. The drift of our talented students to universities across the water or how we face issues like numeracy and literacy levels.
“But we should be heartened by the fact that our politicians are now talking. That’s a welcome step forward. But after two years without movement of any kind, we shouldn’t expect results in a hurry.
“Nevertheless, they mustn’t waste time. So much is at stake if they don’t want history to look back on this period and say – they promised so much but delivered so little.
“My advice would be don’t give up, don’t let a difficulty today ruin the vision for tomorrow. We in business and industry will give you all the encouragement you need."
Mr Healy, who heads up Allstate in Northern Ireland, challanged guests to take a leap of imagination and think of somewhere warm, exotic, and far away - namely Singapore.
“Anybody who’s been there knows what a fantastic place it is. But it wasn’t always that way," he said.
“Fifty years ago it was an underdeveloped country with a GDP per capita of less than $320. Now it’s one of the world’s fastest growing economies.
“There’s been a lot of analysis of how this economic transformation happened – how Brand Singapore came to be created.
“I can identify some of the reasons – it benefitted from pragmatic leadership; it developed an effective bureaucracy; it nurtured the best and the brightest, young people with outstanding talent; and it was driven by the needs of a diverse community with shared values.
“Can we assemble those ingredients and create our own recipe here? Can we renew the vision and ambition of the Good Friday Agreement to create our own unique brand? I’m certain the answer is yes.
“But to make this happen, we need the active support and participation of our elected representatives – plus a fully functioning administration focussed on an agreed programme for government.
“We need action on key priorities – on the economy, on infrastructure, on health - addressing the drastic shortage of clinical nurses, for example - or on education…..the drift of our talented students to universities across the water…… or how we face issues like numeracy and literacy levels."
Attendees at the annual lunch also heard from former head coach to the Irish national rugby team Eddie O’Sullivan and Gaelic football legend Pat Spillane during a Q&A session hosted by broadcaster Holly Hamilton.
