2025 Excellence awards
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Bryan Vaughan, CEF.
Nick Knowles, host.
David Thompson, hubexo.
Claire McCollum, host.
including 90,000 people experiencing homelessness, an overstretched and unaffordable private rental market and chronic shortage of new homes of all tenures. The impact of underfunding Northern Ireland’s water and wastewater system was also covered. “Across the wider economy, there is now a growing acknowledgment that Northern Ireland is missing out on inward investment, new jobs and economic growth because our infrastructure falls far short of standards that would be considered commonplace elsewhere,” said Mark. “Having successfully delivered the vision of Belfast’s new transport hub, we now lack a clear investment strategy for public transport. “Essential roads projects are tied up in the courts or starved of funding. Our schools and hospitals are falling further behind modern requirements. And our waterways and beaches remain among the most polluted in these islands.”
Addressing the lack of delivery by the NI Executive, the CEF chief executive highlighted that two years into its resumption, there appeared to be no investment strategy or new sources of funding with capital expenditure frozen at 2014 levels and revenue budgets in real terms decline. “In other words: no leadership and no ambition,” he said. “Instead, there seems to be an unspoken pact among the Executive parties to settle for the lowest common denominator - dodging difficult decisions, shrugging shoulders, each expecting the other to sacrifice their limited budget and all pointing fingers of failure elsewhere. “The cost of inaction is far greater than the cost of action. Put simply, Northern Ireland cannot afford more drift. “Earlier this year, with the NI Chamber and NIFHA, we published a report showing that the investment required to plug the gap in available funding for our water infrastructure could be met, at a cost of just £2 per household per week -
with full protection for vulnerable groups. “Many MLAs privately acknowledge the sense of this approach. Yet, with an election in 2027 already closing down political debate, funding for infrastructure is a battleground that they fear to enter. “With the backing of our Board and members, the CEF is more determined than ever to challenge the status quo, speak truth to power, push for progress and to work constructively with government on solutions. “We have never had a stronger collective voice - and it has never been more important for that voice to be heard. “Our challenges are real and urgent. But our industry has been defined not by obstacles, but by solutions - by resilience, by expertise and by the will to build a better future. “Together - with our members, with our partners and with those in government prepared to step up - we can deliver the infrastructure Northern Ireland needs and deserves.”
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