The North's politicians will discuss the economy in London today with Gordon Brown. It's high time for them to get on with the job, writes Frank Bryan
The deep-seated problems facing Northern Ireland's small and vulnerable economy have not been the subject of any significant attention from our political parties, let alone action, over the many years of protracted and hesitant progress towards agreed institutions of government.
For several years an alliance of business organisations has been talking to the parties in an attempt not only to get the economy on their agenda but to position it centrally to how we go forward. How we address our economic challenges will ultimately dictate the quality of life for all their constituents in the years to come.
In many ways it has been an uphill struggle against bitter and frustrating wrangling over constitutional issues which the business community in Northern Ireland, perhaps naively, believed had been resolved by the Belfast Agreement.
However, it is a struggle worth making - and we have come a long way. Today, the parties meet the British chancellor of the exchequer, Gordon Brown, in London to press for a package of economic measures to support any restored Assembly and Executive.
This has been preceded by encouraging cross-party work in the Preparation for Government Committee and particularly by their economic subcommittee. Credit is due to elected representatives for recognising that economic and fiscal incentives should be part of a comprehensive settlement.
The crunch issue remains the inability of Northern Ireland to break away from its past and to establish robust and effective institutions of government which meet internationally recognised standards of democracy and which are capable of developing policies that enable us to compete globally.
To put it succinctly, the time for talking has passed. The opposing blocs have been given enough time to prepare both themselves and their electorates. The St Andrews Agreement is, I believe, the best opportunity we are likely to see for many years.
The alternative for the parties is not just a loss of salaries. A failure now to recognise that time has run out will justifiably bring condemnation from the vast majority of people on this island. It will also mystify the international community upon whom we depend for investment, trade, tourism and indeed for considerable aid to promote reconciliation through organisations such as the International Fund for Ireland.
In our assessment of the economic challenges, the Institute of Directors in Northern Ireland believes that economic regeneration and social exclusion are inextricably linked and that only a dynamic and inclusive regional economy can overcome deprivation and low economic participation levels.
Many of Northern Ireland's economic indicators, on face value, make the economic performance look relatively good. But they disguise our structural weaknesses, including a poor entrepreneurial culture, an unsophisticated private sector and a public sector-dominated economy. These leave us vulnerable to future tightening of public expenditure and increasing global competition.
With the public sector accounting for more than 60 per cent of GDP, the balance of the Northern Ireland economy must be moved towards a more vibrant private sector.
That requires a restored Executive to firmly grasp the nettle of restructuring both central and local government and to take the unpopular decisions that will allow us to transform public service delivery, making it more cost effective and fit for purpose in the 21st century.
A new Assembly and Executive would also have to develop policies which can deliver the estimated 141,000 jobs over the next decade to raise Northern Ireland's participation rate to the UK average, to accommodate growth in the working-age population and to replace jobs being lost in manufacturing and agriculture.
Rapidly emerging economies not only pose a threat, they present an opportunity. Support to exploit international markets must be stepped up, marketing skills need to be improved and our low level of investment in research and development needs urgent attention.
We must review our incentives for foreign direct investment so that it plays a stronger role in bringing not just employment but also higher levels of innovation. Northern Ireland looks enviously at the Republic of Ireland's record on foreign direct investment and inevitably the media's focus has been on a campaign to bring our corporation tax into line with the Republic's 12.5 per cent. If the chancellor cannot accept ending the UK's unitary tax structure, he and his officials must come up with a package of measures amounting to the same effective tax rate in order to deliver the step-change required.
I believe that our local politicians are up to the economic challenges we face. Our community prefers that they, not London-based ministers, look anew at how to build a sustainable economic model after decades in which successive UK-inspired industrial and regional development policies have failed to make sufficient impact.
One danger, of course, is that the so-called peace dividend being discussed today will be seen as a cure for all our ills. It is not. Nor indeed would restored devolution on its own automatically secure economic health. But it is the essential next step if our society is to mature.
The greatest progress is in the gift of our local political leadership, because a settled society at peace with itself provides the very foundation for greater prosperity.
I recognise there is an onus on the business community to lead the charge on improving its productivity, developing exportable services and finding innovative products that appeal to global markets.
But we cannot succeed in this fight with one hand tied behind our back. We need our elected representatives to resolve their remaining differences. If they do the deal now, they can win together as part of a shared future. If not, they will condemn the hopes and aspirations of this generation.
Frank Bryan is chairman of the Northern Ireland division of the Institute of Directors