The protection of jobs and the safeguarding of skills must be an urgent priority of the Executive. That’s the message coming from the NI Assembly All Party Group on Construction that met this week to agree its policy and focus areas for the coming year. The meeting comes just as the Ulster Bank PMI survey for August shows that the local construction industry is facing its most severe decline since April 2009. Patsy McGlone MLA and Chairman of the All Party Group said “The All Party Group on Construction has heard directly from the construction industry their concerns about the obstacles they face in seeking to overcome the current economic downturn. We will be raising their concerns with the Executive and Assembly and urging that action be taken to address those concerns. The construction industry is a major employment sector in our society and it has been severely hit by the economic crisis. But it has an important role to play in rebuilding our economy and creating new jobs. We, as political representatives, have a responsibility to assist the construction industry in that role.“
The All Party Group was established in 2008 to provide a forum for MLAs from all political parties to meet with representatives of the construction industry to discuss current issues relating to the industry. Jim Crooks, Chairman of the Construction Industry Group of Northern Ireland (CIGNI), said “ This current sustained economic downturn has created an operating environment not witnessed in the construction industry since the last war. Well over 30,000 jobs have been lost in the local construction industry over the past three years and the decline is continuing and set to get much worse as public sector construction spend in 2012 falls still further and with no sign of recovery in the local housing market. The latest Ulster Bank PMI tells us what we in the industry already know. The local construction industry is in a double dip recession. In a community the size of Northern Ireland this magnitude of decline will have far reaching consequences for the economy and social cohesion. The stark reality is that if it were not for work outside of Northern Ireland our suppliers of construction materials, our consultants, architects, building and civil engineering contractors, plumbers and electricians would have a blank order book. The All Party Group on Construction provides an ideal forum where our politicians can hear first hand from the Industry about the key operating challenges being faced on a day to day basis. The objective now is to get work to the market as quickly as possible by addressing the blockages created by an over bureaucratic procurement and planning system and focus on areas of investment that maximises job creation. Another key area for us to work on is seeking alternative means of funding construction projects in Northern Ireland”.
The Northern Ireland Assembly Construction Group provides a forum for MLAs from all political parties to meet with representatives of the construction industry to discuss current issues relating to the industry.
Chairperson: Patsy McGlone MLA SDLP
Vice Chairperson: Paul Frew MLA UUP
Secretary: Danny Kinahan MLA DUP
Treasurer: Barry McElduff MLA Sinn Fein
Each Political Party has nominated a spokesperson for the Construction Industry
DUP – Paul Frew MLA
Sinn Fein – Barry McIlduff MLA
UUP – Roy Beggs MLA
SDLP – Patsy McGlone MLA
Alliance – Trevor Lunn MLA
The construction industry will be represented by the Construction Industry Group (CIG). CIG is the umbrella body for a wide range of representative organisations covering all aspects of the construction industry. CIG consists of the following four colleges:
College: Constituent Members
Contractors College: Construction Employers Federation (CEF), Federation of Master Builders (FMB)
Suppliers College: Quarry Products Association Northern Ireland (QPANI)
Professional College: Royal Society of Ulster Architects (RSUA), Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Association of Consulting Engineers (ACE), (plus numerous other professional bodies)
Specialist Sub Contractors College: Confederation of Associations of Specialist
Engineering Contractors (heating, electrical, plumbing, steel, piling)
The construction industry delivers our built environment and in doing so impacts substantially on many aspects of life in Northern Ireland. The following is a non-exhaustive list of topics that might be discussed at the All Party Construction Group:
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Employment
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Health and Safety
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Government Construction Expenditure and Building Programme
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Planning
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Housing
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Training / Skills
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Environmental Sustainability
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Procurement
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Supply of Raw Materials
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Design quality
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Built heritage
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Regeneration
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Review of Public Administration
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Building Regulation.
The All Party Group meets three times per year.
