CEF engages with Executive Ministers
19 April 2024 Business Environment Skills Housing Infrastructure Procurement
The return of the Executive has brought fresh opportunities for CEF to directly engage on the industries behalf and this week our team met with three Executive ministers.
On Wednesday, CEF was pleased to meet with Infrastructure Minister John O' Dowd MLA
The Minister emphasised that DfI is positioning itself as the enabling department within the Executive’s ambition for economic growth. The Chairs of our Civil Engineering and Housing. Committees, Leo Martin and Martin Mallon shared their experience of the mounting pressures caused by prolonged underfunding of vital infrastructure underpinning thousands of social and affordable homes, commercial investment, transport links & carbon reduction projects.
The opportunity to refine the current planning system and make it fit-for-purpose was also discussed and we look forward to further engagement with the Minister on these and other topics after the Executive agrees its budget allocations for 2024/25.
CEF was also pleased to engage with the Finance Minister Caoimhe Archibald MLA and Economy Minister Conor Murphy MLA.
In a wide-ranging discussion, the common theme was the importance of continued collaboration between industry and government in addressing challenges such as funding vital investment in infrastructure, increasing social value and supporting skills development & creation of ‘good jobs’. Fionnuala McKenna provided an update on the progress of Construction Futures NI, the company set up by CEF & trades unions to proactively support promotion of construction industry careers and skills development, working closely with the Department for the Economy, CITBNI, the NI Skills Council and the wide range of educational providers.
We look forward to further discussions following the agreement of the Executive budget in the coming weeks.
This has been a busy period for NI Assembly’s committees who are getting to grips with a wide range of pressing issues and on Thursday CEF was pleased to attend the Communities Committee to brief MLAs on the challenges facing our homebuilding sector against a backdrop of a 60-year low of housing completions in 2023. This follows our recent survey which has made clear that current wastewater capacity constraints are holding up some 8,450 homes equating to just under £1bn of investment.
CEF’s appearance can be watched here starting at 1:36
Elsewhere CEF was also pleased to be able to attend the Social Housing Development Programme Innovation Lab set up by the Minister for Communities to continue engagement with key sectoral stakeholders on the challenges facing homebuilders, this as DfC’s Draft Housing Supply Strategy currently navigates its way through the department.