Government<\/a> \u2013 your achievements in recent years have been nothing short of remarkable \u2013 for the Northern Ireland Executive to deliver a globally competitive economy, from pharma to critical minerals, approvals must be quicker.<\/p>\n\u201cBureaucracy must not become a barrier to progress.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Stephens drew attention to the Dalradian gold mine application.<\/p>\n
The company, which is supported by US investment, wants to develop an underground gold, silver and copper mine on the Curraghinalt site near Greencastle, where it has been working for 15 years.<\/p>\n
It says the proposed underground mine could create and support up to 1,000 jobs and add five billion dollars (\u00a34.1 billion) to the Northern Ireland economy.<\/p>\n
However, some opponents have raised concerns about the impact of the proposed mine on the environment and health.<\/p>\n
A planning application was submitted in 2107 and a Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) inquiry was ordered by then infrastructure minister Nichola Mallon in 2020.<\/p>\n
The probe opened for public hearings in Omagh earlier this year, but on the third day of evidence it was suspended.<\/p>\n
Mr Stephens said: \u201cWe need a decision on the Dalradian gold mine, fast.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been around eight years with no movement, and that is harming the region\u2019s reputation, while preventing potential jobs and investment here.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the price of gold rises, this mine could bring valuable revenue to the local economy, helping Northern Ireland fund healthcare, education, and so much more.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are sitting on a literal goldmine, so please end this unnecessary delay.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Stephens said it was a \u201csymptom of a broader issue\u201d.<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cYou cannot expect a US company to make a major investment here if they cannot be certain when they will get an answer from planning authorities.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose systems need to be predictable, and to move at the speed of business.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cBoth President Trump and I are fierce advocates of the private sector, and of the special US-UK trade relationship.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want the UK and Northern Ireland to succeed, because that makes us all stronger.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s why we put pen to paper on the Economic Prosperity Deal in May, and why US and UK firms signed over 350 billion dollars worth of cross-investment deals when President Trump came in September for his historic second state visit \u2013 including Bank of America\u2019s commitment to bring up to a thousand jobs to Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we need our partners here to show the same faith and decisiveness, whether in planning decisions or in dealing with energy costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnly then can we make our countries safer, stronger and more prosperous.\u201d<\/p>\n
Clare Guinness, chief executive of Belfast Chamber, said: \u201cIt was insightful to hear from US Ambassador Warren Stephens and get his thoughts on how the full potential of the US-Northern Ireland relationship can be unlocked.<\/p>\n
\u201cBelfast, and Northern Ireland as a region, must be more open for businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s imperative that all stakeholders work together to create an environment that removes barriers such as planning challenges in order to help attract increased global investment to our region.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, Mr Stephens said US pharmaceutical companies will \u201cshut down\u201d their sites in the UK if the NHS does not pay more for drugs.<\/p>\n
He also issued a rebuke after the Government announced the UK\u2019s first \u201csmall modular reactor\u201d nuclear power station will be built at Wylfa, on Anglesey\/Ynys Mon in North Wales.<\/p>\n
Mr Stephens said the US was \u201cextremely disappointed\u201d by the decision.<\/p>\n
He\u00a0had been pushing for\u00a0a\u00a0larger reactor at Wylfa, and US firm Westinghouse<\/a> had reportedly presented plans to the UK Government to build\u00a0a\u00a0new gigawatt station at the site.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":581038,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5311],"tags":[49,978,659],"class_list":{"0":"post-581037","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-united-states","8":"tag-united-states","9":"tag-us","10":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115578085248706936","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581037","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=581037"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/581037\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/581038"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=581037"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=581037"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=581037"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}