Murphy says Magee 10,000 commitment will be included in North’s Investment Strategy 2050

Transcript

00:00I very much welcome the Minister and his colleagues for their leadership and their regular attendance

00:08in the City of Derry, supporting and enabling and working towards addressing regional imbalance.

00:15I would like to ask the Minister for the Economy for an update on the first report

00:20of the Ulster University Magee Taskforce in relation to, and I know you were in the city

00:26there back on the 11th of September for the launch of it, so just for a further update on it please.

00:30Minister, well the project at Magee, the expansion of the university has been identified by

00:36anyone that we meet in Derry as the single largest catalyst in terms of economic growth

00:41and the area needs economic growth, there's absolutely no doubt about that.

00:46So that's seen as the catalyst for delivering in relation to that. That's why I set up a task

00:50force because what previously had been a statement in the NDNA agreement about a commitment to 10,000

00:56places is now moved into a commitment in the programme for government, supported by all of

01:00the executive parties for 10,000 places in Magee. What we need to do then is turn that into a plan,

01:06not just a statement of intent. The first report that the task force has published,

01:11and I want to thank them publicly for their work in this regard, has identified a range of

01:16challenges that they see that need to be addressed in order to get them to that place. We will

01:21respond to that, as will other departments and agencies north and south, and we hopefully will

01:27be in a position by the end of the year to release a much more detailed report which actually outlines

01:33the steps that will be required to be taken, and of course then we will want to follow through

01:37in relation to delivering on that 10,000 places as we have all committed to.

01:41Mrs Ferguson.

01:43Thank you Minister for his answers thus far. Given the need for significant capital investment,

01:48will the Magee expansion be reflected in the investment strategy?

01:54Yes, I expect the proposition to be reflected in the investment strategy. The investment strategy

01:59will be released at some stage soon. We will certainly be making sure that the requirements

02:04that are anticipated for Magee and the expansion of Magee, it being an executive project as well

02:10as a commitment under a political agreement, will be met within that investment strategy.

02:15I very much welcomed the publication of the task force last week, and I think the task force

02:21itself, spearheaded by Stephen Kelly, was one of the first things that our County Minister

02:26Conor Murphy established whenever he took up office. I think that the delivery of 10,000

02:31students at Magee is an executive priority and one which we are all determined to deliver on as part

02:36of our work to promote regional balance, so I think that is a really strong sign of intent.

02:41It also demonstrates that progress is being made, and I really think it is a real exciting

02:46opportunity to further establish the North West as a vibrant place to live and to study. I think

02:51if we work together with all partners, we will deliver a first-class university in the region.