AQO 176/07

Mrs Naomi Long
Alliance Party
East Belfast

Tabled Date: 12/06/2007
Answered On Date: 25/06/2007
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Finance and Personnel to comment on the public sector share of Northern Ireland's Gross Domestic Product.

Answer:

Public sector spend in the local economy is estimated to be equivalent to 71 per cent of regional GDP in 2005-06 – higher than the UK average of 43 per cent

However, it is important to note that the local public sector is not overly large when assessed as a proportion of the local population. It is the relatively small private sector that gives rise to the perception of a highly dominant public sector.