Northern Ireland peer seeks further boost for local shipbuilding

Lord Rogan has pressed a Government Minister for provide more support to help Northern Ireland workers deliver the UK’s National Shipbuilding Strategy.

First published by the Ministry of Defence in 2017 following an independent review, the strategy overhauled how the Royal Navy procures and builds its fleet.

It was refreshed in 2022 to include commercial ships and other vessels, backed by over £4 billion of public funding to support regional shipyards including Harland & Wolff.  

Speaking in the House of Lords, Lord Rogan told Lord Coaker, a Defence Minister: “You will be aware of the central role that Harland & Wolff is intended to play in delivering the national shipping strategy, supported by significant investment from Navantia UK, which will create many hundreds of new highly skilled, well-paid jobs in Belfast.”

He asked: “What support if any can His Majesty’s Government provide to ensure that the Northern Ireland skills base is ready to supply enough properly qualified workers to fill these vital roles?”

Responding, Lord Coaker said Lord Rogan “will know as well as I do that if you went to Belfast a few years ago, as I did many times, you saw a derelict shipyard with nothing there.”

He continued: “Now, you see investment going into Harland & Wolff and orders being placed there for the building of ships. It is a great credit to the people of Northern Ireland and the people of Belfast that this is happening. The Government are investing in shipbuilding.”

He told the Ulster Unionist peer:

“On skills, which you mentioned, you will know that Northern Ireland was given a growth deal, which can be used for skills. You will also know that, just a couple of days ago, Queen’s University became part of the Defence Universities Alliance, which will also help with that.”

Lord Coaker added: “The blunt reality is that we need to invest money in our shipyards across the UK. We are doing that in Belfast, as well as other areas in the country.”