Without any real teeth to attempt to influence the worsening national and global economic conditions you could be forgiven for thinking that there would be a less than thriving business lobby within the Northern Ireland Assembly.  Not the case.  Business issues are very much to the fore with Public Affairs Lobbyists in Northern Ireland and the potential of the dreaded double dip recession is only likely to further strengthen that hand.

One very positive example of how effective the business lobby has been here is in the fact that the devolution of corporation tax powers for Northern Ireland is now being considered at Westminster after a period of consultation and is at the forefront of the political, as well as the media agenda on this side of the Irish Sea.  

Indeed, only today a deal appears to have been brokered on Air Passenger Duty that would exempt Northern Ireland’s only direct air link to the United States.  The cost of the tax, which is over 20 times more expensive than Dublin airport’s rate, had been threatening to kill off the daily service between Belfast and New York and with it a vital economic link for the Northern Ireland business community.

Other issues for business lobbyists are generally focused around the negative impact that potential policies would have on the high street and on consumers that are struggling with reduced disposable income and increasing inflation.  Examples would include a proposed levy on single use carrier bags, similar to the one in Wales and a proposition for on-street parking charges in 30 towns and cities across Northern Ireland.   The good news for the small business lobby is that the Minister has scrapped plans for proposed on-street parking citing the difficult economic conditions that businesses are operating in.   

These are just a small number of proposed policies that form a very active business lobby within the Northern Ireland Assembly and beyond.  There can be no doubt, as I’m sure is the case across the UK, that business lobbyists’ role in the current economic conditions is as important as it’s ever been.

Shane Finnegan is Client Director and Head of Public Affairs at Belfast agency, Aiken PR