16 September 2025

SDLP Economy Spokesperson Sinéad McLaughlin has said the resignation of long-standing Invest NI board member Kieran Kennedy is a deeply concerning signal about the organisation’s commitment to regional balance.

Mr Kennedy, who was due to complete his second three-year term in April 2026, resigned from the board on 26 June following a meeting in Belfast.

During the meeting he stated that "the team was not committed to achieving regional balance and felt that the North West was being discriminated against".

Ms McLaughlin said:

“It is deeply regrettable that Kieran Kennedy has stepped down from the board of Invest NI. Over the last five years, he has been a consistent and respected voice calling for greater urgency in tackling regional imbalance. For him to resign in frustration is a damning indictment of the lack of progress to date.

“When Sinn Féin took up the Economy portfolio in 2024, they pledged that delivering regional balance would be a key priority. Nearly two years on, people across the North West are still waiting to feel the benefits of that promise in their daily lives. While there has been some welcome progress – with the continued expansion of Magee and the £115 million investment at Seagate – it is nowhere near enough.

“Achieving genuine regional balance cannot fall to Invest NI or the Department for the Economy alone. It requires a joined-up, whole-of-government approach to ensure that every community benefits equally from economic growth and investment.

“That is why I am bringing forward my Regional Balance Bill. This legislation will place a statutory duty on the Department for the Economy to report on how each department is addressing regional imbalance through its strategies and policies. Only by embedding this responsibility across government can we build a fair and just society that delivers equal opportunities for people in every part of Northern Ireland.”