Leading Wall Street financiers are prepared to establish a special investment fund for Northern Ireland in order to encourage political and economic progress, according to the SDLP leader, Mr John Hume.
Mr Hume, at the official presentation yesterday of an SDLP discussion paper charting the possible economic way forward for Northern Ireland, said that on a recent visit to the US he had received an "amazingly" positive response from American businesspeople anxious to support the peace process.
He spoke to a group of senior Wall Street financiers who offered to set up a special fund to assist in bringing jobs and investment to Northern Ireland. Several leading business people, trade unionists, and bankers attended the publication of the SDLP paper yesterday, and Mr Hume said he hoped to discuss the US investment offer with them and with interested politicians from other parties.
The document, "Innovation, Investment and Social Justice - A Framework for Economic Development" was drafted by the SDLP's economic affairs spokesman, Dr Sean Farren. It sets out how - if the arrangements set down in the Belfast Agreement are implemented - the Northern economy could grow and flourish.
Dr Farren in the paper argues that the forecast of only 1 per cent economic growth for Northern Ireland was too pessimistic. While there was a disparity with the Southern economy where a growth rate of up to 9 per cent is expected, Northern Ireland - if it exploits current opportunities - could also make economic strides.
"The objectives for economic growth set by the new executive must be much more ambitious that the targets suggested by current forecasts. The SDLP believes that a target of 4 per cent annual growth is a realistic and achievable one," he writes. In particular, he believes that there are opportunities for growth in the small and medium-sized industrial sectors. The first task of a new executive would be to assess the review of the economic strategy now in its final stages of preparation with the Department of Economic Development in the North.
The executive must establish its independence from the Department, he says. "It must not allow itself to be confined or directed in any exclusive manner by advice from within the administration (Northern Ireland Office)."
"The overall aim must be to establish a vigorous, highly competitive enterprise culture imbued with a strong sense of self-confidence and a determination to succeed," the paper states.
Part of the function of the new executive would be to determine if there could be greater harmonisation of the fiscal regimes - particularly in relation to corporation tax - in the North and the South so that both economies would operate on a level playing field when trying to attract investment. The executive should also focus on making the North less dependent on the public sector. Almost 30 per cent of Northern jobs are in the public sector, compared to 15 per cent in Britain and 18 per cent in the Republic of Ireland.
Dr Farren says that the proposed Civic Forum, if part of its membership is comprised of business people and trade unionists, could play an important role in creating the proper climate for a new social partnership, similar to the partnership that operates in the South.
Ensuring that equality, social justice and fairness were central to the philosophy of the executive would be a key factor in promoting economic growth, he adds. Mr Hume said the SDLP was looking for a broad and detailed response to the document. "It is essential that as we prepare to take on executive responsibilities under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, we lay firm foundations for economic and social reconstruction," he added.
