Magee expansion 'key catalyst for growth of the economy in the North West'

Sinn Féin has its sights set on the Department for the Economy ministry in a restored Executive.

Speaking to Derry Now, Conor Murphy, the party’s Finance spokesperson, and previous Department of Finance minister, said Sinn Féin would “like to take charge of Economy and use that position, if we could get an Executive up and running, to deliver on the idea of regional balance”.

Mr Murphy was in the city on Friday to meet Professor Paul Bartholomew, Ulster University Vice-Chancellor, along with his assembly colleagues, Caoimhe Archibald, Ciara Ferguson, and Pádraig Delargy.

“The expansion of Magee, as well as being a New Decade, New Approach commitment in terms of getting the numbers up, is a key catalyst for the growth of the economy in the North West,” said Mr Murphy.

“Magee has a plan. There is a target set for expansion to 10,000 students. That is a political commitment.

“Over the years, Sinn Féin has met with Derry City and Strabane District Council, the Chamber of Commerce, and Ulster University about re-affirming that [target] and getting the building blocks in the right place at the right time to make sure the ambition and the plans that are here for the growth in Derry and the North West take place.

“In terms of the university, what you have to do is get the infrastructure in place to support that. You can’t suddenly land another 4,000 students here with nowhere to put them and no accommodation.

“That will not happen overnight but we need to make sure that all of the things that need to be put in place to do that, happen. This is a continuous process.

“There is capital investment in there. There is more capital investment going in as part of City Deals. There is accommodation investment.

“The university talked about that this morning and we know there are other people interested in accommodation investment and we are encouraging them to go and to see how they can provide part of that.

“In terms of oversight, Mr Murphy said it was important the “City Deal happens on time and it delivers the outcome it was intended to do. Part of the City Deal was its contribution to the expansion of Magee.”

He added: “When the Executive is up and functioning, we need to ensure government departments recognise that a commitment for regional balance means a commitment for regional balance and all of the departments need to contribute to that. 

“There is a Programme for Government commitment for regional balance. It is a policy commitment for the Department of the Economy. It is a policy commitment for Invest NI. it has to be delivered and it is our job to hold different departments to account. 

“I know there has been ongoing debate. Part of that is borne out by frustration that the University of Ulster was not moving sufficiently fast or was not committed to that. 

“The important thing here is we get momentum behind Magee and that in turn provides momentum into the North West generally in terms of the economy. In that regard, the involvement of Dublin in terms of its investment has been very important.

“From a practical point of view, if you were to say, ‘Right, University of Ulster, stop all of your plans, we are going to turn Magee into an independent university and start from scratch’, that is a big and significant step.

“I know some people may argue for and I understand some of the sentiment behind that argument, but for me, there is a vehicle here which is already moving in the right direction, our job is to make sure it is fully loaded and it delivers what it needs to deliver.”