Official Report: Minutes of Evidence

The Acting Chairperson (Mr Honeyford): I welcome Alison Currie, chief development officer, Invest NI; Ethna McNamee, head of regional business, western region, Invest NI; and Giulia Ni Dhulchaointigh, social and regional economy division, Department for the Economy. I invite you to make some opening remarks.

Ms Giulia Ni Dhulchaointigh (Department for the Economy): I will speak for a few minutes before handing over to Alison. Thank you for having us here this morning. My remarks will focus on the work of the local economic partnerships (LEPs), which is my remit.

Local economic partnerships were set up in every council area. They are partnerships involving councils and other mandatory stakeholders, such as further education colleges, local enterprise agencies, businesses and the third sector. They can also involve, as appropriate, other stakeholders: for example, universities or other business sectoral organisations that are relevant in the different areas. Each partnership has been tasked with coming up with an action plan to grow the local economy in its area. The Department has provided a £45 million fund to do that. As of today, nine of the 11 council areas have agreed action plans; the remaining areas are Mid and East Antrim and Fermanagh and Omagh. That is an update to the position in the briefing paper, because the Belfast City Council plan was agreed by the Minister yesterday.

The initiative was designed to deliver on the Minister’s regional balance priority. The funding formula was weighted towards peripherality to reflect that regional perspective. It is also designed to leverage the expertise of local stakeholders on what their area needs, and that has proved to be really valuable in each. We have tried to be as flexible as possible in delivering the partnerships, and that can be seen in the funding profile. We started with a flat £15 million profile every year. Not unexpectedly, as the action plans came in, it became clear that councils were using their own funds for the partnerships, particularly in year 1. We have updated the profile to reflect the much lower spend last year, although we are still waiting on some claims from last year to come in. There will be a greater spend this year and next year. We will continue to work with councils on the profiles. We also work closely with our Finance colleagues to ensure that they are aware of what we need and of any underspends.

The flexibility is visible in other ways, too. The partnerships move at different speeds, and some have spent a lot more time than others on debating things and agreeing priorities, which is what we want. By the end of the process, we want each partnership to come out with an agreed action plan that everyone in that area can get behind. You can also see it in how the partnerships are formed, where they sit in council structures, and even in the different project priorities. It is a three-year fund. While year 1 was mainly about the initiation phase of planning and design, you can see, this year, the move to delivery. Newry Mourne and Down District Council has held two AI workshops, with 70 attendees. Its sustainable tourism network is up and running, and its commercial property grants should launch next week. Two Derry City and Strabane District Council schemes are out today: one is a grant scheme for businesses, and the other seeks a bespoke enterprise support service for the Derry City and Strabane District Council area. Lisburn and Castlereagh City Council has held a successful trade programme over the past month, where businesses have received a good lot of support to explore the Irish and London markets.

I attached some of the content of the action plans to the briefing paper, so, hopefully, you will get a sense of the range of things that will be delivered this year and next year. As I was going through things this morning, I spotted an error in the briefing paper, which you might have noticed. On the first page, it states:

That should be 16·2%. It was just an error in the drafting. Apologies for that.

The initiative involved a lot of work with the regional teams in Invest, one of which — the western team — Ethna leads. Working on the partnerships gives you a real insight into the value of that work, and how important those regional offices are to supporting businesses in different areas. It is so good to see the greater recognition of those offices and greater resources going to them.

I will be happy to take questions, but, for now, I will pass over to Alison.

Ms Alison Currie (Invest NI): Thanks, Giulia. Thank you, Chair and members, for the opportunity to discuss regional balance this morning. Regional balance matters because it unlocks the full economic potential of every area; creates opportunities for all communities; strengthens productivity; and builds a more inclusive, resilient and sustainable economy.

I commenced in the new role of Invest NI chief development officer in January 2026. I have responsibility for our regional development agenda, including our regional business group; land and property; and our new client solutions group, which brings together innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, the green economy and energy efficiency, cluster development, operational excellence, supply chain development, and leadership and skills support. I have over 20 years' experience in economic development across Northern Ireland, Ireland and Scotland. Before working in Invest NI, I was director of innovation and entrepreneurship at InterTradeIreland, and I previously worked on the design and delivery of national and regional business support programmes in Scotland. I know first-hand how important entrepreneurship and innovation are to regional balance and economic growth. It has been clear during my first months in post that regional balance and strong local partnerships are central to the Minister's priorities and Invest NI's strategy.

There is a drive and ambition in Invest NI to deliver regional balance. In order to strengthen delivery, we have introduced a five-region operating model across Northern Ireland: the five being Belfast, the north-west, southern, eastern and western. We have recruited five senior heads of regional business, increased the number of client-facing staff and restructured portfolios to broaden reach and improve local delivery. The regional teams work closely with councils, colleges and the wider ecosystem to identify entrepreneurs and businesses with growth potential, supporting them with advice, mentoring, skills and finance at each stage. Entrepreneurship is one of the strongest drivers of regional balance, because successful home-grown firms create jobs, build skills and anchor growth locally. Our Founder Labs accelerator and pre-accelerator programmes help innovation-led start-ups to test ideas and find routes to market. Nearly 30% of accelerator participants and over 70% of pre-accelerator participants are based outside the Belfast metropolitan area. We are seeing that translate into results, with firms based in Derry, such as ConsultTed and LifeCellsNI, attracting private investment and scaling into new markets.

We support investment across Northern Ireland by helping locally and internationally owned established firms to invest and reinvest. Programmes such as Ambition to Grow have already onboarded more than 270 new client companies and are helping firms to increase external sales and jobs. Omagh-based Oatco Superfuel is one example, having progressed through the programme before securing investment after appearing on 'Dragons' Den'. Our agri-food investment initiative is helping a key subregional sector to improve productivity, efficiency and job quality. Earlier this week, we announced support for Craigavon-based Kestrel Foods to invest £5 million in automation, increasing productivity and creating 29 jobs. As I speak, the Minister is announcing that, with the support of our agri-food investment initiative, Coleraine-based LacPatrick Dairies will invest £24·5 million in automation to increase its productivity and sustainability. Other notable reinvestments include those in EY's new office in the north-west and FinTrU's continued expansion in the region. In the Belfast metropolitan area, there are areas of deprivation where investment and job creation remain important. We have supported companies such as Cirdan, iVerify and Achilles through R&D and with job creation.

Regional balance is being advanced through inward investment, with the number of visits across Northern Ireland rising from 67 in 2023-24 to 165 in 2025-26. Last year, that included first-time investments by Bank of America, Biller Genie and iReel. Our regional property strategy is also a critical enabler of regional balance, and we are working with councils to progress key sites, including Desertcreat in Cookstown and Mandeville in Craigavon.

We are in the final year of our three-year strategy. While the 2025-26 figures are still being validated, early results suggest that we have met or exceeded most targets, with investment having been delivered across every council area. We expect to publish the final results shortly and will be pleased to return to discuss them with the Committee. Early highlights point to stronger innovation activity, better access to finance, increased green investment support and continued business expansion across Northern Ireland. However, improving regional balance is not just about what Invest NI does; Northern Ireland's regional disparities are shaped by wider structural issues, such as infrastructure, connectivity, planning, public services and skills. Progress depends on purposeful partnership across Departments and agencies.

Alternative funding is becoming important. Through the Shared Island enterprise scheme with InterTradeIreland and Enterprise Ireland, we are supporting female entrepreneurship, clustering and sustainability investment, including projects in mid-Ulster to help businesses decarbonise, adopt greener processes and create high-quality jobs. We are working with city and growth deal partners on projects that turn regional balance into investment, innovation and skills on the ground, including Ulster University's centre for food and drug discovery in Coleraine; Ulster University's cognitive analytics and digital robotics innovation centre in the Derry and Strabane District Council area; and Queen's University's £98 million advanced manufacturing innovation centre at Global Point in Belfast.

In summary, we are turning the Minister's priority of regional balance into practical delivery across Northern Ireland. Our focus now is to build on that progress and make sure that every region shares in the next phase of growth. Thank you, Chair. We welcome questions from Committee members.

The Acting Chairperson (Mr Honeyford): Thank you. I will open the session straight away.

Ms McLaughlin: Thank you for your opening statement. Alison, you have articulated clearly the importance of regional balance and the fact that it is not just in the purview of the Department for the Economy but that, in order to achieve true regional balance, it must be in the purview of all Departments.

As you know, when Invest NI came to the Committee in December 2025, we discussed the reliability and appropriateness of the data that was presented. I am looking forward to seeing the 2025-26 figures in order to evaluate the progress that has been made in the past 12 months. Last year, none of the 19 new inward investments went to the north-west, and not one of the 560 — almost 600 — jobs came to Derry. That really shone a light on this question: what is the Department's actual policy to achieve true regional balance, whereby new businesses come to the regions? It was not that new businesses went to the other regions; apart from the Belfast metropolitan area, I think, only one region got new inward investment. Will the 2025-26 results prove different? You have the results in, because the year ended in April, and you are evaluating them: will they prove to be good news for the north-west this year?

Ms Currie: The results, Sinéad, are being validated and independently and robustly assessed. We do that because we publish all our performance data on Open Data NI. I think that we are one of the only public bodies to do that. We do it so that everybody can see exactly what we have delivered where and how much those investments have been. I do not want to give incorrect figures to the Committee, but I can say that it looks as if we have met or exceeded most of the year 2 strategy targets. That puts a really good foundation in place.

Ms McLaughlin: Without evaluation, it would have looked as though you were meeting those targets last year. You achieved a regional balance target figure of 59%, but, when we looked into the figures, we found that you were counting numbers of projects rather than their value. A project could be worth about £800 and create no jobs. It is critical that what you count — the data — measures outcomes of investments and their impact on communities and people's standard of living. People in the north-west did not feel that the dial on inward investment had moved significantly last year.

My question is twofold: will the results be different this year in for new inward investment from new entrants to the north-west and jobs created as a result, or are you continuing to use as the measure the number of projects rather than their value? When I was very critical of that last year, the chief executive of Invest NI and, indeed, the Minister said that they were prepared to look at the monitoring and the appropriateness of using that data and at whether that investment is actually delivering regional balance. It really is not.

Ms Currie: To give you some assurance, Sinéad, while we measure the volume of investments, we also measure their value. It looks as though the value of investments is increasing across the regions of Northern Ireland. You made a point about inward investment. I will put it back to you that another way of improving and achieving regional balance is by supporting our home-grown, local entrepreneurs. We want more people across the regions to start businesses and to access our support through things such as our Founder Labs programme. I mentioned that 70% of participants in the pre-accelerator that leads to the accelerator — those are our high-growth, scaling businesses — are from outside the Belfast metropolitan area.

We also want to support entrepreneurs with established firms to expand them, whether we do that by looking at their leadership and skills or at innovation and R&D. We want to onboard new clients to Invest NI. In the past couple of years, we have onboarded over 280 new clients through our Ambition to Grow programme. The programme supports existing entrepreneurs who employ people in all the regions to increase their external sales and to take on new employees. That might mean a business with two employees doubling that number to four or a business with 10 employees doubling that number to 20. For example, Basalt distillery in Bushmills has increased its external sales and taken on two new members of staff. It attended a trade fair in Germany with us. Demanu, which manufactures products and provides services, is looking for new expansion land in order to increase the number of products and services that it can help other businesses with.

I am confident that the results will show that we have delivered more support to local businesses. I am sorry that you have met people who do not feel that the dial is moving. I ask you, as our elected members, to tell business people whom you engage with that Invest NI is open for business. We want to engage and work with every business. We might not have finance for every business, but we absolutely have information, advice and signposting guidance. We are working with councils and with our stakeholders across the business ecosystem. We want businesses to engage with us. We face outward through our regional offices, we have more client staff, and we are working with bigger client portfolios. The real purpose of doing that is to ensure that we deliver what local businesses and entrepreneurs need: supports that will help them to address challenges and barriers and to take advantage of the opportunities that are before them. That is what staff across the regional offices provide.

Ms McLaughlin: Alison, I have to put it on the record that a lot of good work is being done on the ground. Businesses are engaged in the programmes, and more people are coming forward, particularly in relation to innovation and training, which is really good. What I am talking about is jobs being created and wages going up in an area because of new entrants — new lifeblood. It is important to grow both; it is not one or the other. The Belfast metropolitan area gets new growth all the time, but the rest of the regions, particularly those west of the Bann, are being totally left out. That is not to say that we do not have absolutely fabulous businesses in all areas that are global leaders.

For comparison, I quite often look to Cork as an example that is outside the Dublin metropolitan area. It is thriving — not just Cork city, but places such as Kinsale, which delivers Mounjaro throughout the world. It is absolutely massive in that. Viagra all comes from around Cork. They sell Botox and all those pharmaceutical products to the world. That is not in Cork city but in the smaller regions. The same does not happen here. We are not bringing those new entrants into the smaller regions here: everything lands in Belfast. Hopefully, the results this year will tell a different story, because we are almost at the end of your business plan, as you said, but we have not seen the dial on new entrants move at all, whereas good work is being done in other areas.

You talked about R&D. Belfast accounts for 60% of Innovate UK's spend across Northern Ireland, while the Fermanagh and Omagh District Council area receives less than 1%. The Causeway Coast and Glens and Derry City and Strabane areas are, I am afraid to say, on the same wavelength as Fermanagh and Omagh. What are you doing to move the dial on innovative funds coming in from the UK? That is really important, because innovation is the lifeblood of our existing businesses as they move forward, particularly in the AI world in which we now live.

Ms Currie: I agree, Sinéad. Innovation is a primary driver of business growth. It is really important. Invest NI works closely with Innovate UK, and we want to change that percentage figure across Northern Ireland, with more entrepreneurs and firms being able to access Innovate UK funding. In fact, we held an Innovate UK event up in Ebrington in Derry last month, at which there were over 120 businesses networking and getting an understanding of what funds are available. Our teams are there to help first-time innovators to understand how innovation can help them to develop new products or services and bring efficiencies to their businesses. We have a whole innovation pathway that supports first-time innovators right up to experienced innovators who are working on extensive R&D projects. You may have examples, Ethna.

Ms Ethna McNamee (Invest NI): You mentioned the innovation deficit in Fermanagh and Omagh. I have been working in that area over a large number of years. It is important to note a couple of factors: the structure of the economy in Fermanagh and Omagh is such that it is largely dependent on agriculture and a large construction sector. Given the nature of businesses there, we have been out in the marketplace with a continuum of innovation supports, from innovation vouchers and technical development incentives, right through to large-scale R&D. Last year, we adapted first-time R&D support, whereby there would be a simpler application form and higher levels of support. On the back of that, we have found that there has been heavy engagement in those areas in early-stage R&D.

We are very alert to that innovation pathway, how it leads to higher competitiveness in businesses and how areas of Northern Ireland —. I am aware that the Committee had a presentation from the Chief Scientific Officer about the importance of research and development. We fully endorse that. The local economic partnerships have been instrumental. Almost every partnership has identified the need to adopt strategies to embed AI — new innovative practices — in businesses. There is a whole host of supports for those who are at that early stage, but we totally agree with you on doing anything that we can to support that innovation pathway. There is a huge amount of support through the regional offices. We have innovation advisers who go out to businesses and help them to complete their application forms. If Committee members are aware of businesses out there that do not know, I will say that that hands-on support is available, whether that is support to complete applications for innovation vouchers or to complete R&D application forms. Innovate UK is housed in Invest NI's building in Belfast, so we can make referrals to Innovate UK directly from our teams. We really encourage that. If there are opportunities to do more, that would certainly help regional economies.

Ms McLaughlin: It really is a red flag, because, without innovation, you cannot close the productivity gap. The productivity gap in some regions is getting bigger. Alison, why are we not measuring productivity as a target and an outcome for Invest NI? We measure activities and projects, but we do not measure the outcome of the investment and what it actually does to close those gaps, promote regional balance and give true regional balance a chance. Say that company A gets money in years 1, 2 and 3; how do you measure exactly how productive that investment is and what it gives to the community in that place and to the company? If we are not measuring it, how do you know that that investment is working for all of Northern Ireland?

Ms Currie: It is a really important point. Every year, we do our client performance indicators. Those are official statistics, whereby we record details from all our clients on their sales, new products and services, employee numbers and gross value added. We know that productivity is a real driver of regional balance, and we are working hard to assess it. We have developed a new productivity assessment tool, which we are piloting. We hope to publish the past two years of results in June, and we will then roll it out across all our activity. Be assured, Sinéad, that we measure all the things that you mentioned, including sales, jobs created and the value for money of those investments. Typically, every £1 of investment that we make brings an additional £6 of investment into the local economy.

Ms McLaughlin: That is right. Why, then, when you report on regional balance, do you report just on projects rather than also on the impact that they have had? You report just on numbers rather than also on impact and outcomes.

Ms Currie: My understanding is that we report not only the number of projects but their value and outcomes.

Ms McLaughlin: It is the number of projects. Invest NI has said, "we achieved 59%", which relates to the number of projects, not the impact or outcomes. That is not being felt in the pockets of workers or in communities. That is not regional balance. That is measuring activity rather than the real outcomes and economic indices that will see transformation and change.

Ms Currie: To restate, we do our client performance indicators. They measure all those outcomes and are reported. Every programme that we deliver has an evaluation that looks at value for money and the economic outcomes that were generated by it. All those statistics are publicly available. They will all be published with our year-end results at the end of June.

Ms McLaughlin: I look forward to seeing and analysing them. Thank you.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): Colleagues, I apologise for my lateness. Alison, I congratulate you on your recent appointment. Ethna, you are very welcome. Giulia, I thank you for your ongoing work. I publicly recognise your vital work in engaging with the UK Government and securing that project for North City Business Centre, which is vital to my constituency. I also thank the Acting Chair, who replaced me more than capably.

Ms D Armstrong: Thank you. Good morning. I welcome the panel. It is good to see you here. Sinéad touched on a number of points that I wished to raise. I represent Fermanagh and South Tyrone, so I have one foot in the Fermanagh and Omagh camp and the other in the Mid Ulster camp. Looking at regional imbalance, I am aware of and welcome programmes that Invest NI runs throughout Dungannon and Enniskillen. The uptake is really good. Ethna, how do you see the tourism industry using innovation vouchers? Can you see there being uptake in the use of those vouchers to innovate and develop products?

Ms McNamee: I cannot give you specifics on how many tourism businesses are using innovation vouchers, but all tourism businesses that are building innovative capacity are eligible. I know that South West College, which is one of the knowledge providers on innovation vouchers, delivers one of the highest numbers of innovation vouchers. Certainly, I can get you that information.

From our perspective, regionally, we see the importance of tourism to the economy, particularly in Fermanagh and Omagh.

From that innovative capacity, all those supports for leadership, capability and innovation are available to our tourism providers. I know that a lot of local tourism providers have used our ICT supports for new systems. In fact, one of our tourism providers is developing a new system across all the tourism accommodation providers. I cannot give you an accurate figure for it. However, we would certainly welcome more providers engaging in innovation support, which would drive productivity. We are very mindful of the challenges in the tourism sector and the need to drive productivity and wage growth to create sustainability in that sector. I am happy to bring you factual information on that. If a group of local providers wants to talk about innovation support and building innovation capacity, we would be very happy to organise a workshop or seminar. Last year, we held a seminar at The Workhouse in Enniskillen and another one in Omagh on accessing our R&D supports. We would be very happy to roll that out again locally.

Ms D Armstrong: Thank you. Traditionally, Fermanagh has an SME economy, so I cannot see a huge industry coming in to address regional imbalance. The focus in the area is now on green technology and green tourism. Giulia, what steps will be taken through the regional balance unit to grow the economy through green technologies in that region?

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: Green technologies are not my area, but the LEP in the area has discussed that in its prioritisation.

Ms D Armstrong: Its plan is not ready. Has there been a problem in developing that?

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: To be honest, the partnerships all have different sets of stakeholders who require different amounts of time to talk these things through. On the timing of things, in some areas, people move very quickly to agree priorities but then take longer to deliver them, whereas others take longer to discuss their priorities but then deliver on them very quickly. There is no particular problem in that area. It is just that the stakeholders are taking a bit more time. Given that the area has a smaller business base, shall we say, getting the right people on the LEP has been one of the challenges, but they are well placed now. You were at a really good meeting last week, Ethna.

Ms McNamee: Yes. I am very confident that the plan will be available within the next two weeks. Essentially, the Fermanagh and Omagh LEP has taken a lot of time to engage with business and to formulate the right actions and make sure that it has ownership of the plan. In fact, through that ownership, I can see a lot of really good things happening. There have been some unintended consequences as a result of the partners at those meetings discussing other projects, such as critical infrastructure projects. Therefore, whilst that time may not have delivered a plan, it has delivered something that I see as being of huge benefit to the area, if the partnership can pull it off in the longer term.

I will pick up on the green economy question, because I am quite close to some of the growth deal plans that are being worked through in that area. You will be familiar with the Desertcreat project, which is a green innovation technology park. Aligned with that, Fermanagh and Omagh District Council is looking at the sustainability opportunities through its growth deal. Someone described it to me as being like a necklace, if you look at the work that is being done around the green energy district at Carn and Seagoe. That is moving into Desertcreat and moving down. All of that is building a proposition around green energy that is supported by the growth deal and the local economic partnership and the huge amount of work that has been done around the Industrial Decarbonisation for Northern Ireland project, which is about decarbonisation clustering. That evidences the opportunity to decarbonise as being a huge economic advantage, which will have a productivity impact on that region. I should say that, whilst there are few large companies, we are aware that a number of them have very significant green energy projects, some of which are being considered in the context of UK funding.

Ms D Armstrong: On that point, when it comes to job creation and job growth, can you anticipate job growth and innovation in that area? It is more of a peripheral area.

Ms McNamee: Absolutely. That is part of the bigger picture of building the infrastructure. We will build the critical infrastructure around green energy in the district, and that will build the proposition for international investment. I understand Sinéad's frustration. I live in the Derry City and Strabane District Council area, so I cannot be accused of not knowing what is happening. We need to build the infrastructure so that the proposition sells itself. I have seen that; I have seen international investors come to talk about what they know are planned investments in the district.

Ms D Armstrong: Thank you very much.

Mr Delargy: Thank you for your presentation, which was really useful. You set out exactly what you have been doing in order to realise the Minister's vision for regional balance and deliver it on the ground, and that is, obviously, very welcome. I wanted to make two points, the first of which is about the Invest NI office in Derry, and the second one is about Shared Island funding.

The key point that you mentioned is about confidence in business and giving them the ability to explore all their options and to look at innovation and growth and so on. The front-facing element of Invest NI and how businesses can access it is a key part of that. As has been mentioned, there are great staff in Derry with great ability, and there is a good connection with business. I have been to very many of its events as a local representative. Progress is obviously happening around creating the new office. It would be useful to have an update on that, and how it is going to engage other businesses. How does that office feed into wider engagement in Derry and the north-west?

Ms Currie: You are probably aware that there are plans for a new north-west office. A business case has been approved for that. I cannot announce just yet where the new office will be, but it will be in Derry. It is going to be a very modern, future-focused office that will be well resourced with staff. It will be a real jewel in the crown for inward investors to visit. The office will be close to existing clients, large and small. The plan is for that office to become a regional hub. We want our partners, stakeholders, clients and businesses to work with us in that office once it is formally announced and opened, hopefully later this year.

Mr Delargy: That is perfect. One of the things that struck me was that, any time that I visited the office in Belfast, it was clear that staff from across the region were able to come in and use it. It would be great to see the same in Derry, so that staff can come in from other areas.

Ms Currie: You will see that. We are already doing that. We do not need the new office to do that. Our R&D and innovation staff, for example, are regularly in the region to host business breakfasts or engage with clients. It is worth noting that the Seagate R&D project in the north-west, which is based in Derry, was one of the largest that Invest NI ever secured for Northern Ireland. That was the subject of a very competitive process in order to ensure that that R&D project landed in Northern Ireland. That has positioned the north-west and Northern Ireland as a centre for excellence in photonics. There is excellent work going on there and with the supply chains into that. There are really positive opportunities in the north-west.

Ms McNamee: The Omagh office, for example, although it is located in Omagh, has a regional team. There are staff from the food sector, as well as from skills, property, entrepreneurship and communications. There is a cross-section and, every day, you will see staff from all the divisions. The ICT division was with us yesterday. It is very much a cross-organisational office, not just a regional office. Sometimes, people miss the breadth of supports that are available in the regional offices.

Mr Delargy: Definitely, and it will be good to see that continued growth. My second point was about Shared Island funding. That is key to Derry and the north-west and all border regions that have been disadvantaged by partition and the lack of economic opportunity and growth. How does that funding benefit your work on all-Ireland cooperation, and, secondly, how does that link in with other funding streams? In the past, we have heard that sometimes, when that funding becomes available — not just for investment but across the board — it is isolated in certain pockets. We are keen — this has come up consistently — that, as a Committee, we understand how that interacts with other funding streams, funding pots and funding priorities.

Ms Currie: I can talk to the Shared Island funding. Invest Northern Ireland is working very closely with InterTradeIreland and Enterprise Ireland, and that partnership secured a €30 million investment to focus on female entrepreneurship, clustering and sustainability. That is being deployed right across the island. There are events, skills transfer workshops and investment projects happening right across the island. That gives us an alternative funding stream to do more and different work. We continue to work with those partners. I think that that was the first time that those three agencies had worked collaboratively, which is really important. We also look for other sources of funding from the UK Government to ensure that we are covering both the east-west and North/South elements. Those are lined up in things like city and growth deals. We want those all to be connected rather than be isolated pots and siloed activity.

Mr Delargy: That is 100%. It is great to hear that that has been done. Are there any examples of how that funding comes together?

Ms Currie: When it comes to deploying the funding, yes? In the sustainability project, for example, Invest NI had €10 million out of that pot to support sustainability, which is essentially supporting companies to introduce new technologies into their business to reduce carbon outputs. Two of those have been announced. One is O&S Doors, which is a manufacturer of kitchen and bedroom furniture doors. A lot of MDF dust is produced there, and, rather than that going to waste, the company is reusing that MDF dust to heat and power its factory. That then heats the lacquer spray that goes on top of those doors. That company is shipping something like 4,500 doors around the world. It is a massive exporter of kitchen doors to the US. The chances are that everybody here has a kitchen door that was made in mid-Ulster by O&S Doors. That is a tangible example.

The other agencies are taking the lead on things such as clustering and female entrepreneurship, but we are a big supporter of that. In fact, this weekend, there is a big female entrepreneurship event in Lusty Beg. We are working with AwakenAngels on that, and that is encouraging females to think about business for the first time and to encourage those who are in business to think about scaling, how they grow and how they look at export markets. Our Invest NI staff will be there this weekend to support those women.

Mr Delargy: Thank you. It is great to see the change. As I mentioned, I recognise that you are not starting from an equal footing. You are starting with the fact that we have dealt with 100 years of not having regional balance and being isolated, particularly from the South. I recognise that it is a very difficult starting point, but there is a clear trajectory, and it is clear that very positive work is going on. Thank you all for that.

Ms Currie: Thank you. That is a really important point. Transformative change takes time, and we are putting really good foundations in place. We are working with the business population and trying to strengthen the whole ecosystem. I am certain that, in years to come, we will see that change.

Mr Honeyford: Thank you all for coming in. You talked about building infrastructure. I talked in the Chamber yesterday about manufacturing. The South has a manufacturing strategy: 85% of those jobs are outside Dublin, but the infrastructure is in place to allow those businesses to be positioned. Part of the issue here is that we do not have that major infrastructure in place. Is that one of the major barriers to growth in the region?

Ms Currie: One of the critical enablers of regional balance is that property base. There is a really clear market failure. There is a shortage of industrial property for local businesses or those who want to come to Northern Ireland to expand. We have had a really ambitious regional property programme approved by the Minister. For commercial reasons, we do not reveal where the sites are that we are interested in, but, at this stage, we are progressing with two of those. Desertcreat is also securing funding from the city and growth deal, so that is another example of where we are integrating the funding streams and opportunities. Ethna mentioned that that will be a green innovation park. Also, in Mandeville, we have existing land that we are upgrading. The planning permissions there have not been fit for purpose. That is being upgraded, and work will happen there. Your point is valid: there are issues with infrastructure, waste water, electricity connections and connectivity generally. We engage regularly with NIE and NI Water to see whether we can identify solutions that will work for us, but that remains a challenge.

Mr Honeyford: I will go on to property in a minute. The issues that I hear about when engaging with businesses are planning and waste water. Those are the two that come up. Every time that businesses try to expand, there are restrictions and barriers. Is cross-departmental work going on with DFI to unlock some of that for businesses?

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: We have regular engagement with DFI on a range of those issues. It is no surprise to DFI that those are issues. The Minister wrote to DFI to highlight the importance of those things to the economy. We do not have a Budget agreed, as you will be aware. It is a difficult position for all Ministers to plan in, but we keep in regular engagement on these things and keep in regular contact on the issues that are coming up on those sites.

Mr Honeyford: I have said a couple of times in here that I have been to the business park in Dundalk. The South has taken a model of plug and play. It has taken that model and made planning really simple. That business park was pre-approved, effectively, for planning. It was all ready to go and then split up for businesses, and that was done very quickly. We do not have that ability, or anywhere close to it, to do that. Is there any movement towards that model?

Ms McNamee: The ambition for Desertcreat is to have a plug-and-play solution, where the infrastructure is in place at the highest level technologically that is affordable. It is to have green infrastructure to allow companies to come and purchase a site that is ready. That is typically how we build out our industrial estates. Typically, we leave the infrastructure in place. The challenge for us at the moment — it is a good challenge — with our industrial estates is that they and industrial land have been heavily in demand. We recognise the need for an additional 300 to 400 acres of land. Our property strategy is for 2024 to 2034. We aim, first, to build out the properties that we have at the moment, which are Desertcreat and Mandeville, because we have funding to do that. In the longer term, we have ambitions in our property strategy to look at options such as leaving the infrastructure in place and moving towards the advanced factory model that you will have seen evidenced in the South of Ireland.

Mr Honeyford: I have two questions. I will ask about land in a second. I was with a business last week, and I heard that it took over a year to get planning permission for the business to expand. That kills investment. In the South, it takes 12 weeks. We can talk about land and everything else, and I will in a second, but, unless we change the fundamental dial so that, once you have purchased land, wherever it is, you can get on to it quickly and move, it is a problem.

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: I can take that away, and we can write back to the Committee on the specifics of what is going on to improve the planning system.

Mr Honeyford: That would be useful.

I have to raise my own area. In Lagan Valley, we have no land. We have zero land left from Invest NI. Blaris is sitting ready and zoned, but 272 acres of land have been sold and purchased in the past decade and there has been zero land bought in my area. We are talking about being aspirational and wanting to do it, but why has that been allowed to happen?

Ms Currie: We have a property strategy agreed with the Minister and published. There are budget constraints that prevent us from being able to proceed with that strategy. We do not reveal where we are interested in buying land.

Mr Honeyford: I understand that.

Ms Currie: It is a budget constraint issue at the moment.

Mr Honeyford: You cannot put jobs in any area if there is no land to put businesses on. That is a fundamental issue.

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: This is an issue that LEPs in both Lisburn and Castlereagh and Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon councils have raised, and they are taking forward projects to address that. So, there are some live developments on that.

Mr Honeyford: Phillip, if we can get that information on planning, that would be useful.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): Thank you, David.

Ms Nicholl: Alison, welcome. It is nice to have all of you here. I was going to ask about R&D, but a lot of that has already been covered by Sinéad. Helen McCarthy was at the Committee previously, talking about how we have a really big problem with attracting sufficient research funding. I think that the innovation panel is doing really good work. I would like to hear your thoughts on how we can do more to spread a culture of investing in R&D across all of Northern Ireland. You have mentioned some of the good things that you are doing, but what more can we do collectively to boost that?

Ms Currie: We do a lot collectively. It is a small region, and the players in the region are locally connected. We work closely with the universities, Helen McCarthy and UK Research and Innovation when pots of funding are available. The foundations are in place, and we are much more connected. Helen mentioned putting Northern Ireland PLC first, and that is a new approach to make sure that the agencies do not chase different funding streams, but, collectively and collaboratively, work together to ensure the best outcomes for the entire region.

Ms Nicholl: Thank you. Enterprise NI (ENI) may be separate, but I am keen to hear your thoughts. There was a piece published yesterday about how the Enterprise NI support service has no clear path beyond March 2027, and there is an urgent window of eight to 12 weeks to co-design the changes that are coming. Have you engaged in that? What can we do about that?

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: The primary entrepreneurship support is Go Succeed, which is run through the councils. Enterprise NI is one of the providers of the service, and it is well aware of the funding issues. As with all projects that are funded under the Shared Prosperity Fund, there are worries about sustainability because the funding was cut. Enterprise NI will run the service until March 2027, because the local growth fund gave some funding. I am sure that you are aware that the funding for the voluntary and community sector was also heavily cut. Belfast City Council leads the procurement for councils, and it has engaged with providers about the future of the service and potential future procurement. Enterprise NI also met the Minister recently on those points.

Ms Nicholl: Is it not something that your teams are engaged with?

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: We are very engaged with Belfast City Council and other councils on Go Succeed. It is important to have the right support at the entry level to get businesses to every other stage.

Ms Nicholl: It is important for regional balance.

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: Absolutely.

Ms Nicholl: OK. Finally, I represent Belfast, and most of what I know about regional balance I know because Sinéad sits on the Committee. Sometimes, regional balance is used as a buzzword, and it is not always very clear what it means to the public. If someone from Fermanagh has tuned into the session, how will they understand what regional balance means? How will they see tangible change? Alison's presentation was a good explanation of regional balance. However, if you were explaining regional balance to someone who is not part of this world but wants to understand exactly what you are doing, how would you simplify your vision and what Invest is doing?

Ms Currie: Regional balance means that every area of Northern Ireland — Belfast or any other region — has access to good jobs, good employment and has a thriving economy with local businesses that are locally and internationally owned, and that is a simple explanation. We are trying to focus on three key areas, as I said to Sinéad. The first is about supporting entrepreneurs who will be our future employers and want to start businesses. Those people tend to anchor where they are from, employ people locally and grow and scale from there to the international markets. We want to support the entrepreneurs who already have businesses to grow to look at external sales and exports and increase employment, wherever they are in Northern Ireland. We want to support inward investment into Northern Ireland. Inward investment is important, but as a small country, there will only be so many projects that we can attract into Northern Ireland.

The first two priorities are important to a lot of Invest NI's work. The inward investment work remains important, but the main drivers are working with local entrepreneurs and businesses to grow and scale. We will work with the international firms that are already located here to encourage expansion.

The statistics show that something like 60% of international firms based in Northern Ireland go on to reinvest and expand and to grow their base from Northern Ireland to service markets around the world.

Ms McNamee: You mentioned the man in the street in Fermanagh. If I know the men in the street in Fermanagh, they will want more businesses, more pounds in their pockets to spend and more visibility of Invest Northern Ireland in their communities. That is what we do and what we want to do. We want businesses to reach out, whether it is to us, councils, enterprise agencies or local colleges. We want businesses to know that there is someone to support them, to help them to grow and be more productive and to make more money.

Ms Nicholl: It all circles back to Pádraig's point about regional balance and historical underinvestment. You want to see ambition and huge change happen quickly, but you have to start somewhere, and it is the spark that drives it.

Ms Currie: There is a culture shift and change in Invest Northern Ireland to drive that regional balance; there really is.

Mr Kearney: I have two questions, and I am going very local on both. The land acreage of Antrim Technology Park was disposed of in 2022. How was the revenue generated from that sale ploughed back into the economy in the south Antrim area?

Ms Currie: I do not know the specifics of that business park. Typically, if we dispose of land, that money goes into a central pot in the Department for the Economy, and is deployed —.

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: There are Department of Finance rules about what it is counted as or if a profit was made on the site. We can come back to you on the detail of that.

Mr Kearney: If you would, please, that would be great. Related to that, there are two successful enterprise parks in south Antrim, one at Mallusk and one in Antrim town. They do great work. What relationship do you maintain with both of those?

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: Enterprise agencies are on local economic partnerships, so they will be represented on the Antrim and Newtownabbey local enterprise agency, which, I think, was one of the first to get going. There are good projects in that plan around workspace, as far as I know. That keeps a close tie between recognising the value that those enterprise agencies bring to the area and providing good space for businesses to start and grow and, if necessary, move on. The clustering effect of businesses being together in enterprise agencies is powerful.

Ms McNamee: I cannot speak to the specifics of those two enterprise agencies, but I can speak to the specifics of Cookstown and Dungannon workspace and Omagh Enterprise in the Enniskillen region. We have ongoing contact. Our staff meet businesses in the enterprise agencies. We meet enterprise agency managers on an ongoing basis. We are talking to them continually about referrals. Similarly, they are directing clients to us for business support. They are very much part of the wider support network and are critical components within it. We have ongoing, close working relationships at all times with all the enterprise agencies across Northern Ireland and, indeed, with ENI. I cannot speak to those specific relationships, but they are important players in the early stage of business development.

Mr Kearney: Returning to my point about the revenue generated from the disposal of the enterprise park, specifically with regard to underpinning the economic plans for the constituency and Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council area, will you also come back to me on the nature of the relationship that is maintained with those two enterprises? They work closely together. They are plugged in, as you say, but I am keen to see them flourish with as much support as possible.

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: I think that Mallusk had a report out about the value that it brings to the area.

Mr Kearney: Yes, that is right.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): Its chief executive has just been appointed to your board.

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: Yes, Emma.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): I have a few questions to ask. As I said at the start, Alison, congratulations on your recent appointment. I was particularly struck by your remark about culture change in Invest Northern Ireland. You may be aware that that has attracted some commentary and scrutiny, not least in the 'Belfast Telegraph' yesterday, in an opinion piece by a former deputy permanent secretary in the Department for the Economy. First, what is your role? It is a nice title, but what does it actually mean? What culture changes have we seen in Invest Northern Ireland, and what are you planning to do? Historically, Invest Northern Ireland has been the jewel in the crown of economic growth in Northern Ireland and has played a vital role. There is commentary now that it has somewhat lost its way and has got away from the main aim of growing the Northern Ireland economy. Regardless of where investment takes place in Northern Ireland, growing the economy is a good thing. What work has been done to try to rebuild Invest Northern Ireland's reputation, here for local firms and across the globe, as an enterprise delivery agency that can be trusted and can deliver and that, rather than focusing on internal politics or staffing matters in the organisation, has its focus on delivering for the people of Northern Ireland?

Ms Currie: It is disappointing to read articles such as that.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): Do not worry; I read articles that criticise me all the time. [Laughter.]

Ms Currie: I mentioned my role at the start, but I appreciate your asking me about it.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): My apologies.

Ms Currie: I am part of the executive leadership team in Invest Northern Ireland, and I have responsibility for our regional development agenda. That includes our regional business group, land and property, and a new client solutions group. That client solutions group brings together all our teams in innovation, research and development, entrepreneurship, the green economy and energy efficiency, cluster development, operational excellence, supply chain development, and leadership and skills.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): It is a small portfolio. [Laughter.]

Ms Currie: It is a small portfolio. [Laughter.]

Our client-facing staff work with all our clients that need support, whether those are SMEs, potential SMEs or large companies, to identify challenges and barriers to growth as well as opportunities. All those teams provide information, advice and guidance and can connect to other providers of support, including financial support. That sums up that role.

You asked about culture change. There is a whole new leadership team under our new chief executive, Kieran Donoghue. I had engaged with Invest Northern Ireland in prior roles. I see it internally as a really different organisation. It is full of very warm, engaging and knowledgeable people who want to work hard for the economy across Northern Ireland. Our client-facing staff are out every day, engaging with businesses that are already working with us and businesses that want to work with us.

There are staff in teams across the world as well. We have international offices, and I was fortunate enough to travel to Toronto last month with a group of businesses. I saw first-hand that a member of staff in Toronto was able to set up an important business meeting for a client, and it looks as though that will result in a new deal for a business based in Belfast. That work continues around the world to help companies based here to access international markets, and we have teams that promote Northern Ireland and our value proposition here to firms across the globe. Typically, we might have prioritised or focused on the US, but we have firms from across the world, including from Australia, Germany, India, the Cayman Islands that have located in Northern Ireland.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): I want to ask you about the communication of that work. My view is that, previously, Invest Northern Ireland was better at promoting the work that it did for the Northern Ireland economy. I have no doubt that everyone who works for Invest Northern Ireland is committed and is making a real difference every day. However, I am not seeing that as much as I used to. Have you considered how to communicate to the people of Northern Ireland the vital work that Invest Northern Ireland is doing daily?

Ms Currie: The short answer to that is yes. Of course we want everybody in Northern Ireland to see the good work that we are doing and to benefit from it. We have extensive reach and engagement through our social media platforms. We try to engage with the press. Recently, our heads of region have been working on thought leadership articles to raise awareness of Invest NI and what it does. I take your point; there is always more that we can do and should be doing better to communicate the good story of Invest NI.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): I regularly see your video sponsored into my social media promoting jobs and opportunities, so I may look at that.

Giulia, I want to touch base on the local economic partnerships. Some considerable time ago, former Minister Murphy outlined his subregional economic plan and vision. The key component of that was the local economic partnerships. That was some 18 or 19 months ago.

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: October 2024.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): From my perspective, progress on that has been very slow. It was the flagship in that report and vision. At the time, I disagreed with the characterisation of outside Belfast as the Belfast metropolitan area plan area. I do not believe that somebody who lives in Toome sees themselves as living in Belfast; but that argument is lost, and that is fine.

At a time with budget difficulties and when resources are stretched — I commend the Minister for securing £45 million to that — the lack of spend and delivery on that to date is not acceptable. I have done a quick calculation: of the £45 million that was announced in October 2024, £343,000 has been spent. Is that right?

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: It is over £400,000.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): Over £400,000. That is less than 1%.

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: I will give you a bit of context, if you do not mind.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): Of course.

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: It is a three-year fund. As I said in my opening remarks, we started with a flat profile of £15 million in each year. We have been working with councils to update that profile, because, as you know, with most projects, you do not really see a flat profile. There tends to be an initial phase and then greater delivery. In this year's phase, the spend has been primarily around staff time. There has been some delivery — I said "this year", but it was the last financial year — and some spend. That also reflects the fact that councils have spent their own resources on significant areas of work over the past year. For example, we did not pay for any consultancy; councils spent their own resources on that. Some councils did not spend any of our resources on staff time: they paid for that themselves. That initial planning phase will really pay dividends over the next year or two. That was required to allow partnerships to come up with what the right projects and right priorities in an area were. I said in my opening remarks that Belfast's plan was approved by the Minister yesterday, which is probably of particular interest to you. We are making good progress, and we will see an awful lot of delivery over the next year or two.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): That was the year 1 plan for Belfast that was approved.

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: No, it is —.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): The action plan?

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: Yes.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): The document that was provided to us states:

How could the Minister have signed off on it if it has not been submitted?

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: Essentially, it was submitted over the past week. We got it approved very quickly. We try to move as quickly as we can once things are in. We are on all the LEPs, so we have a good idea of what is coming to us, generally.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): What does that profile of the £44·6 million look like over the remaining two years?

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: There is about £16 million in the forecast for the next financial year and then about £21 million in the year after that, and then some tails of expenditure in year 4. It is good planning not to have a cold stop sometimes, because some projects will be going on.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): Of course.

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: It is still that same level of spend. It is just that the profile has changed over the years.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): Yes. Has the profile between capital and revenue changed?

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: No. It is still two thirds capital.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): Do you see the majority of capital being delivered in year 3 at that £21 million?

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: It depends on the area. Any of the industrial land or anything like that will have a longer lead time. That is year 3 activity. Some councils have capital grants, such as the Derry City and Strabane District Council grants that launched today, as I mentioned. Those will be delivered this year. Therefore, it depends on what the project is. If councils have put a lot of capital in a big, chunky land project, that is more likely to be year 3; whereas, if there are more of those smaller grant projects, it will probably be this year.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): Has the Department sent the Belfast City Council letter of offer?

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: The plan was approved yesterday. I have not been in the office this morning, but I do not think that we have sent out the letter of offer yet.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): Now that the plan has been approved, is it available to the public?

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: I will get in touch with Belfast City Council to see what it will be happy to share with the Committee. To give you an overview, one project focuses on creative screen businesses, one focuses on broader creative industries and one focuses on entrepreneurship. There is a big difference between the plans. Belfast is one of the shorter ones. It has about £700,000 that it has not yet allocated.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): Perfect.

Alison, my final question is about industrial land or business parks that are already in Invest Northern Ireland's ownership, vis-à-vis the regional property fund and looking to develop more. Take Glenbank; take the Mackies site owned by Invest Northern Ireland; or, for a more advanced one, take Global Point, which has been a relatively huge success: there does not seem to be profile or funding for existing business parks that have a proven track record of delivery and could expand and have interest, as opposed to trying, with the regional property fund, to develop from the outset places where there are no current Invest Northern Ireland portfolios. How do we find the balance between supporting new projects and using assets that we already have rather than leaving them vacant, especially given the fact that, particularly at Global Point, there is demand from businesses that are queueing out the door to get in, but Invest has not profiled any funding to that to match the demand?

Ms Currie: I can give you an assurance that we have a dedicated property team of staff who will work with businesses that are doing property searches to understand what they need and want so that they can direct clients and businesses to available land. The property strategy that we have in place requires funding, however. There are funding constraints across Northern Ireland. We maintain our business parks, and we actively promote and sell that land where possible, but, unfortunately, we have been unable to follow through with the future phases and expansion of the full regional property programme.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): In the draft Budget, which is clearly not yet agreed, the regional property fund previously had £0 allocated to it. Is that still the case?

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: There is no budget.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): I mean in the Minister's draft Budget.

Ms Ni Dhulchaointigh: I am not over the details. It was not enough; I know that much.

Ms Currie: I am happy to come back and clarify this, but my understanding is that there is no ring-fenced money available for property in the draft Budget.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): That is my understanding too, but we can check.

Mr Buckley: Thanks very much for your presentation this morning. If you have listened to the Committee's deliberations over the past year or more, you will, I am sure, understand that regional balance means so much more than just Belfast and Londonderry to many of us. Many of us look at and value other parts of our country and think that there is a need for balance when it comes to investment and foreign direct investment, recognising that each area has specialities and specific needs. Therefore, to have an appropriately regionally balanced economy, it is important to reflect each area.

Declan, Phillip and even David mentioned the need for available land, of which Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council has an abundance. I particularly think of the Mandeville site, which you mentioned in your presentation. That is a site of 95 acres in central Craigavon. Without doubt, it is a strategic asset not just for the Northern Ireland economy but for Invest NI. Your chief executive has talked about its importance regionally and more widely for foreign direct investment. In July 2025, he told ABC council and elected representatives of the need for increased collaboration with NIE, NI Water and other providers to ensure that the site was fit for purpose. He talked of £10 million that was going to be invested over the next 12 to 18 months. That was in July 2025; there has been nearly a full 12 months in which to meet the objective of having a site with £10 million invested, ensuring that it would be open for foreign direct investment and wider business development. How far on are we in the timescale to complete on the project?

Ms Currie: We are progressing with that project. We have an integrated consultancy firm in contract with us working on the development of that land. We have to progress through planning permission. The policy and contextual change means that the planning permission that is currently in place for it is no longer fit for purpose. We want it to be a future-focused business park, so that planning process will be ongoing.

I do not have the timescales to hand, Jonathan. I am happy to come back to you on those specifically, but I can give you the assurance that it is a priority project within our property division that we are actively progressing.

Mr Buckley: Do you have any indication of how much money has been spent on the site to date? In July 2025, Invest NI had spent in the region of £0·5 million on the site, and I wonder where that spend is, to date.

Ms Currie: Sorry, I do not have that information with me.

Mr Buckley: OK. Would it be possible for you to supply the Committee with the full spend so far, an outline of timescales for when the £10 million will be invested and an update on where we are with planning, so that we can ensure that the project keeps moving?

Ms Currie: Absolutely.

Mr Buckley: Thank you.

The Chairperson (Mr Brett): There are no further questions from colleagues. I thank the witnesses on behalf of the Committee. Thank you for your ongoing work. We look forward to staying in touch. Thank you for your time.