THE NORTH’S First Minister has revealed that he hopes to see corporation tax in Northern Ireland reduced from its current rate of 26 per cent to 10 per cent.
The DUP leader Peter Robinson said he would also like the next Northern Ireland Executive support the creation of 20,000 jobs in the region over the next four years.
The First Minister unveiled his economic wish list in Belfast yesterday during a Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce event designed to let the local business community hear at first hand from political leaders about their plans for jobs, growth and the economy.
The chamber’s “5 Leaders, 5 Days” series aims to give political parties a chance to spell out their plans, particularly on how they intend to grow the local economy, ahead of the May elections in the North.
Speaking at the Northern Ireland headquarters of the American financial services group Citi yesterday, Mr Robinson said the fundamental building blocks for prosperity were “peace and stability”.
Referring to the murder of Constable Ronan Kerr in Omagh, the First Minister said that despite the “setback of recent days” Northern Ireland remained a society “transformed”.
“We saw the blight on investment and employment for the decades of the Troubles and now we are seeing the real potential of Northern Ireland being unleashed.
“I believe that settled and stable political institutions are a key ingredient of this progress,” Mr Robinson added.
He said growing the economy had been the key priority of the last programme for government.
The First Minister said despite the “unprecedented financial turbulence” and the “most difficult fiscal environment for a generation”, he believed the Executive had delivered.
“In the last four years we have invested more than ever before in crucial infrastructure for the long-term growth of the economy,” he said.
Mr Robinson said one of the Executive’s most significant achievements had been its ability to attract new and better jobs to Northern Ireland from abroad, particularly from the United States.
He also paid tribute to the role the Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, had played in helping to attract new investment to the North.
“Being able to present a united front on behalf of a stable Northern Ireland gives potential investors real confidence in investing here,” Mr Robinson said.
However, he also added that it would be wrong to think that there were not significant economic policy differences between the DUP and Sinn Féin.
