NI Chamber President Neasa Quigley has used her first major public address to make the case for greater collaboration between government and business in Northern Ireland, stressing that transformational progress will only follow when public and private sector leaders are enabled to work together.
Addressing more that 500 people at the membership organisation’s Annual Lunch in Titanic Belfast today (Friday) she said, “Northern Ireland needs real collaboration between government and public and private sectors, taking full advantage of the expertise, capital and experience that already exists and which business has repeatedly shown willing to provide.”
“A really pressing example of this is the provision of an affordable and secure energy supply,” she continued, “where high costs and security of supply impact on our competitiveness. Business is ready to invest, but investment needs certainty. That means moving ahead with the Renewable Electricity Price Guarantee Scheme, producing a comprehensive and supportive biomethane policy, and making progress on planning reform and grid infrastructure delivery.”
Stressing the urgency she said, “Businesses bring a vast pool of knowledge, real-world experience and investment. NI Chamber members are ready to play their part. What they need in return is a system that listens and works with them. The aim is quite simple – create the conditions where business can grow and succeed. When that happens, the benefits follow across the whole economy.”
She commended the businesspeople in the room “who have kept employing, investing, adapting and finding ways forward,” throughout a long period of disruption, but stressed that while “that resilience deserves recognition, resilience on its own is not an economic strategy. If we want stronger growth, we need conditions that reward enterprise rather than test it at every turn.”
Encouraging those in the room to play their part in championing Northern Ireland, she said that “progress and prosperity is possible, if we are honest about the challenges and determined in how we respond.”
“The challenges are real,” she concluded, “but so too is the determination and collective strength of Northern Ireland businesses to meet them. That is why I remain hopeful.”
NI Chamber’s 2026 Annual Lunch was delivered with the support of headline sponsor BT, alongside supporting sponsors Cleaver Fulton Rankin, GMcG, Honeycomb Jobs and Dell Technologies.
Guests at the lunch also head from Rachel Duffy, winner of the hit BBC series, The Traitors.