Belfast Telegraph

“The press takes [Donald Trump] literally but not seriously; his supporters take him seriously, but not literally.” This observation back in 2016 by journalist Salena Zito has become emblematic of the once and future President of the United States. It makes it almost impossible to assess which of his apparent ‘promises’ he intends to keep

Capital investment is essential for economic growth and to upgrade our infrastructure. This is especially the case with NI Water, whose works backlog is constraining housing and industrial development and urban regeneration. Public spending on infrastructure is limited by spending rules self-imposed by the UK government, concerned about fiscal credibility in global markets. High levels

My mother died two decades ago from Motor Neurone Disease. I was living in Derry, with primary caring responsibility for three young children. The guilt of not helping to look after her in those final months lingers with me. It was my father who provided that caring role. But it could never be adequate to

Innovation should be central to the way any organisation operates. But commitment to historic spending priorities can kill innovation. If your budgeting is essentially that what has been brought forward is then carried forward, you are killing opportunities for the organisation to change. Nowhere is this more true than in government – or, more specifically,

The latest Belfast Telegraph Top 100 most profitable Northern Ireland companies report provides a snapshot of what is happening within our economy. It illustrates both how far our economy has changed, but also the ways in which it has not. In some sectors, such as energy, it is in with the new, but not yet

It is great to have government again, and many of the ministerial statements made so far have been very positive. One example is new Economy Minister Conor Murphy recognising how central comprehensive childcare provision is to female participation in the workforce, raising productivity and reducing economic inactivity. Similar comments were made by the incoming First

Many years ago I interviewed the late Frank Dobson, then health secretary for England, about his plans for reforming the NHS. ‘It’s like turning round a giant super-tanker’, he said, using an analogy that applies in practice to pretty well all public service reform. Tony Blair, in his initial years as Prime Minister, believed he

The cost of living crisis has hit Northern Ireland very severely, with costs rising much faster than incomes. In fact, incomes last year increased more slowly in Northern Ireland than in any other part of the UK — reflecting our greater dependence on the public sector (where pay has been held down by British government

Housing policy in Northern Ireland is a mess. It is most evident in the social housing waiting list sitting at over 44,000 households, while we build less than a thousand social housing units a year.   But it is equally a mess when it comes to the private rental sector. Policy, it seems to me,

Capital investment of €44.5m (£38m) has been awarded by the Irish Government for the expansion of Ulster University’s Magee campus in Derry. This is intended to increase the number of students at the campus from both Northern Ireland and the Republic, including through the construction of new teaching and student facilities. It will also support

Young adults and teenagers are frustrated at the divisions in our society, making Northern Ireland a less attractive place in which to live. Over 40% of those surveyed by think-tank Pivotal are planning to move away. Yet, while this stark finding grabbed the headlines last week, the number one change called for by young people