Mr. Glyn Roberts:

Perhaps I could touch on the point about infrastructure. When I last presented to the committee in 2017, with our colleagues in Retail Excellence Ireland, we flagged up the high-speed rail service between Belfast and Dublin. At that point it was seen as quite a left-field idea and it was not even on the radar. Now, it is a mainstream policy objective for the Irish Government and, indeed I hope, a restored Northern Ireland Executive. It would open up the opportunity for people to commute between Belfast and Dublin. It would certainly take the pressure off the housing situation in Dublin as well. It has to be one of the big projects that we have a serious dialogue about when Stormont is restored. We should not forget about the A5, as Mr. Kelly rightly pointed out. There is also the York Street interchange. It is very striking that you can drive all the way from Cork and the first traffic you lights you will come to are on York Street in Belfast. We need to make sure that we get that interchange there.

We have members in every village, town and city. I am very conscious that many of our members in rural towns feel left behind. They are of the view that infrastructure needs in our small towns are not being given the priority that they deserve. One of the things that Retail NI has highlighted is the need for a rural town infrastructure fund to make sure that those towns can get their share. There is also a very strong case for more levelling up money to be ring-fenced for rural towns. Indeed, we are always of the view that the shared island and levelling-up funds, and the money that we are due to get for town regeneration from the UK Government, should be aligned in the one direction.

On the point about Invest NI, obviously, a new CEO will soon be in post, an ex-IDA Ireland career person. It is due to recruit a new Chair as well. I hope that gives the organisation a new start, because it does need it. Invest NI has been punching below its weight for quite some time. I think it does a reasonably good job in terms of foreign direct investment, but one of the challenges of us is the indigenous business base. Many of the small businesses that we work with feel that Invest NI is simply not cutting the mustard. One of the things that Retail NI has suggested, in the review of Invest NI, is that we almost need an office for micro and small businesses to make it as easy possible for people in Northern Ireland to start a business. If there is one thing that we cannot have too much of, it is entrepreneurs.

I believe that with dual market access and with the progress we have made with the international investment conference and the senior American delegation, we have, in the medium to long term, considerable opportunity to be a Northern Ireland powerhouse that will transform not just our region but also make the whole island an island of opportunity.