Unlocking growth through delivery, not delay
Why 2026 must be a year of progress for Northern Ireland
By Kailash Chada, President, NI Chamber
During 2025, Northern Ireland’s business community demonstrated remarkable resilience and determination. Across manufacturing, services and our growing tech sector, firms worked hard to adapt and compete. However, going into 2026, we know that resilience alone is not enough. Businesses are stretched. Our own research shows that confidence moderated into the latter part of 2025 and behind the headlines many firms are operating with tightening margins, weaker cashflow and limited financial headroom.
This is not due to a lack of ambition or effort. It reflects sustained cost pressures, particularly from wages and taxation, that are stretching the capacity of even the best-managed firms. Rising input costs and the ongoing squeeze on margins leave businesses with little room to invest for future growth or to absorb further shocks. In addition, Northern Ireland’s businesses have had to navigate the challenges of the final phases of Windsor Framework implementation, including changes to parcel rules and ‘Not for EU’ labelling – each adding further cost and complexity to daily operations.
Sustainable growth depends on an environment that gives businesses the confidence, support and capacity to invest, innovate and scale. In that context, 2026 must be the year when the Northern Ireland Executive delivers on the critical devolved levers underpinning economic growth. Policy execution on issues including planning, wastewater, energy and skills will define the success or otherwise of this Executive. With an Assembly election on the horizon in 2027, the year ahead represents a critical window for political focus to shift away from positioning and towards the practical business of governing – we cannot allow it to be devoid of delivery.
What has been lacking in recent years is consistent execution. Businesses operate in real time, making investment decisions based on whether infrastructure, talent and economic policy are effectively supporting growth. 2026 must therefore mark a turning point, where Northern Ireland Executive action aligns with economic reality and removes long-standing barriers to competitiveness. 2027 may be an election year but there is much to do before the focus shifts to the next mandate.
Skills: matching talent to opportunity
Skills shortages remain one of the most significant constraints on economic growth in Northern Ireland. From digital and cyber skills to engineering, construction and green technologies, employers are struggling to find the people they need. This is not a future challenge; it is a present reality that limits productivity and could deter inward investment and local business expansion.
In 2026, the Executive must deliver a skills system that is responsive enough to meet labour market demand. For the last number of years demand has outstripped supply. Failure to address this would mean eroding Northern Ireland’s competitive advantage, leaving our workforce unprepared and our economy behind as the world accelerates into the AI-driven future.
Practically, this means the immediate implementation of mechanisms that enable businesses to upskill and reskill their workforce, removing barriers for employers to recruit and train apprentices, an agile and business centric education and training system, as well as providing targeted support for those furthest from the labour market.
In 2026, the immediate focus should be on expanding high-quality apprenticeships, targeted training interventions and ensuring careers advice reflects real economic opportunity. A skilled workforce should be Northern Ireland’s greatest asset but only if policy and practice enable employers to access the right skills at the right time.
Last year, NI Chamber called for the establishment of a Workforce Development Agency and 2025 saw the approval of a motion proposing a Talent Development Agency at the Assembly. This is a welcome first step – now it is time to get on and deliver it.
Wastewater: removing a critical brake on development
Wastewater capacity has become one of the most acute and visible barriers to economic development and housing supply. Our outdated, underfunded infrastructure is no longer a problem that can be patched up – it is at breaking point. The lack of capacity in the system is actively damaging our economy, choking the construction sector and placing our ability to meet basic housing needs in jeopardy.
This is not merely an infrastructure issue; it is an economic competitiveness issue and the consequences are vast. New commercial projects are being delayed or cancelled altogether and investors who might otherwise bring jobs and opportunity to Northern Ireland are choosing to put their money elsewhere. A report we published in 2025 warns that this stagnation could result in the loss of 1,690 direct and 870 indirect construction jobs, and £1.3 billion in lost construction investment.
But there is an alternative. This crisis should be seen as an ‘invest-to-save’ opportunity. By reforming how we fund and deliver wastewater infrastructure we can unlock housing growth, revive construction, protect our environment and support the long-term health of our economy.
The Infrastructure Minister’s ‘three-pronged approach’ to wastewater has marked some progress but the conversation remains live around long-term sustainability. That requires sustainable funding solutions for Northern Ireland Water, governance reform and a clear delivery pipeline for upgrades and new capacity. Alongside our colleagues in the Construction Employers Federation and the Northern Ireland Federation of Housing Associations, we have proposed that a multifaceted solution is needed, including proposals made by the Infrastructure Minister, a government backed Infrastructure Transformation Fund and a modest, progressive infrastructure levy to help close the extensive £2bn funding gap.
Planning: enabling timely and confident investment
It must be acknowledged that three years on from challenging reports from both the Northern Ireland Audit Office and the Public Accounts Committee, there has been progress on planning with some recent improvements in processing times. However, this is against the backdrop of a considerable fall in applications. Restoring confidence in the system will take time but it is critical for economic growth.
In 2025, we saw some progress on the Turley-NI Chamber planning report from the previous year, which included actions on our recommendations to review the role of the Planning Appeals Commission and the securing of funding to appoint Special Commissioners to address bottlenecks.
As we watch neighbouring jurisdictions tackle planning challenges through legislative reform, in 2026, the Executive must get behind more radical planning reform and use the remainder of this mandate to remove any barriers to introducing legislative reform to the planning system in the next mandate.
Energy: unlocking growth and decarbonisation
A secure, affordable and sustainable energy system underpins every part of the economy. Yet Northern Ireland continues to face high energy costs and uncertainty around delivery of the energy transition. For businesses, this translates into higher operating costs and delayed investment, particularly in manufacturing, agri-food and emerging low-carbon sectors.
In 2025, we saw progress on the socialisation of grid connection costs, bringing NI further into line with the rest of the UK and Ireland and publication of the final scheme design for the Renewable Electricity Price Guarantee scheme.
But we cannot ignore the challenging findings of the Audit Office on delivery of the Energy Strategy, which very much aligned with the lived experience of NI Chamber members. We have taken much of 2025 to reflect on what more industry can do to support and partner the Executive on delivering a clear, evidence-based approach to the energy transition. This is something that we must get right for future generations but also to achieve security of supply, affordability and decarbonisation. In just a few weeks NI Chamber will publish a series of tangible and deliverable proposals on power, heat and transport and we look forward to working with the Department on seeing substantive progress.
From stability to success
2026 must be judged on outcomes, not intentions. Delivery on energy, skills, wastewater and planning would transform this region’s prospects and demonstrate that Stormont can deliver real value.
Northern Ireland has talent, ideas, and ambition. What we need now is a shared vision and the courage to act. If we don’t, we’ll stumble into the next election cycle with no plan and no progress. That simply cannot happen.
NI Chamber stands ready to work in partnership with the Executive, providing insight, evidence and collaboration. The opportunity is clear. The challenge now is execution.
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