In this week’s public policy bulletin we take a look at the upcoming visit to Ireland of US President Joe Biden. We also examine the March unemployment rate statistics from the CSO as well as the latest UN trade and development figures for Ireland. In addition, we report on the response issued this week by the NI Department for the Economy to the recent findings of the independent review into Invest NI.
President Biden to visit Ireland next week to mark 25th anniversary of Good Friday Agreement
This week the White House has confirmed that US President Joe Biden will arrive on the island of Ireland next Tuesday 11 April, in a visit which will include trips to Dublin, Louth and Mayo. In a statement confirming the trip, the White House confirmed that Mr Biden will first travel to Belfast to mark the "tremendous progress" made since the signing of the Good Friday Agreement 25 years ago. According to the plans, after spending the 11th and 12th of April in Belfast, Mr Biden will then travel to the Republic to attend official engagements in Dublin, Louth and Mayo where he will deliver an address “to celebrate the deep, historic ties that link our countries and people”.
Unemployment rate remains unchanged at 4.3 percent in March – CSO
The Central Statistics Office (CSO) this week issued its latest Monthly Unemployment Estimate for March 2023 in which it found that the country's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.3 percent from February of this year. This is down from the 5 percent rate of unemployment recorded a year before in March 2022. According to the results, the seasonally adjusted number of persons unemployed was 117,200 in March 2023 - marking a decrease of 14,400 in the seasonally adjusted number of persons unemployed in March 2022. In a note accompanying the statistical release, the CSO noted how the methodology for the Monthly Unemployment Estimates involves forecasting the number of persons who are unemployed using the trend in the recipient Live Register series. Given that the Department of Social Protection is providing Working Age Income supports to qualifying persons arriving in Ireland from Ukraine under the Temporary Protection Directive (which is included on the live register), this has impacted the numbers of unemployed reported in the estimates.
Ireland ranked the sixth largest exporter of financial services in the world
According to the latest United Nations trade and development figures, Ireland is now the sixth largest exporter of financial services in the world and hosts the 19th largest international banking sector globally. Moreover, in a report issued this week by the Federation of International Banks in Ireland (FIBI), the number of international banks and investment firms operating in the State continues to grow, with 17 of the world's top 20 global banks now located here. In a survey of its members, FIBI (the representative body for international banking and investment firms in Ireland) found that 80 percent of member firms expect business activity in their Irish operations to increase in 2023 with Irish employment in these firms jumping 16 percent to over 14,200 between 2019 and 2022.
Northern Ireland’s Department for the Economy issues response to independent review of Invest NI
The Department for the Economy (DfE) this week issued a formal response to the findings of the independent review of Invest NI which called for “profound change” to be implemented in the economic agency. Confirming that the Department “accepts, in principle, all recommendations emanating from the review”, the statement outlined how DfE recognises that fundamental change will be required to ensure that Invest NI “is strategically aligned with our 10x policy objectives.” It is now DfE’s stated ambition to work with Invest NI and other key stakeholders “to develop and implement solutions which comprehensively address each recommendation within the report” by way of a new Action Plan to be published by summer 2023. You can read the full departmental response to the review’s findings here.
LOADING...