‘Better asset management key to economic recovery’
Michael Hannaway, chairman of RICS Northern Ireland,
The chairman of one of the Province’s leading professional bodies has said more needs to be done to make Northern Ireland’s large public sector estate more efficient and sustainable.
Michael Hannaway, chairman of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), says in his Mid-Year Report that effective management of government buildings in Northern Ireland will save millions of pounds each year and that reducing division has the potential to significantly enhance the prospects of the local economy.
Mr Hannaway, who became chairman of the 3,000-member RICS Northern Ireland in September 2011, highlights some of the key issues for the land, property and construction sectors and for the Northern Ireland economy as a whole.
Key points in the report include:
n Raising more revenue to support capital investment in Northern Ireland to help bring infrastructure up to standard and to boost the economy through construction activity
n Effective asset management in both the public and private sectors is key to the recovery of the Northern Ireland economy, so that the government estate can be made as efficient as possible and challenges in the wider property market linked to NAMA and portfolios of property controlled by banks can be managed
n Effective valuation of property is essential for the economy so that dysfunctional property markets can begin to function properly
n Greater priority needs to be placed on reducing the environmental impact of Northern Ireland’s public estate
n The Northern Ireland Executive needs to continue to work to address major issues in the planning system to support investment and construction activity
The report also notes that RICS believes the housing market will continue to experience downward pressure in 2012 and that there is little reason to believe the construction sector will see any change in fortunes this year.
“The constraints on public spending, and in particular the impact of this on the construction sector, alongside the legacy of the property bubble and the current dysfunctional nature of property markets, are without doubt amongst the most significant challenges facing our economy at present,” says Mr Hannaway.
“It is imperative that groups holding large portfolios of property, including governments, publicly controlled bodies and banks, manage these assets in a way that doesn’t compromise the recovery and the good functioning of property markets. Property also needs to be valued in a realistic way.”
Mr Hannaway also said securing the powers to lower corporation tax and announcing them as soon as possible should also be made a major priority.
“Much of the opposition to reducing Northern Ireland’s rate of corporation tax centres on protecting the Block Grant which the Northern Ireland Executive receives from Westminster to administer services in the areas where powers have been devolved. If lowering Northern Ireland’s rate of corporation tax is going to result in a reduction in the Block Grant of £150m or £200m per annum or £300m, in the context of a Block Grant of over £9bn, surely this is a price worth paying to help rebalance our economy, create jobs and allow us to prosper in the future.
“It will mean that we will have to be better at managing the public money that we do have at our disposal. We’ll certainly have to manage our assets and resources better. But all of these things can and should be done anyway,” he adds.
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Weather for Belfast
Tuesday 29 May 2012
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