Hundreds of jobs to be created by £50m defence sector deal, officials say

Northern Ireland's defence sector is to receive a boost which will lead to hundreds of jobs locally, officials have said.

The Northern Ireland Defence Growth Deal, launched by the UK government, will see £50m invested in tech companies and start ups.

It is a collaboration between the Ministry of Defence, local companies and Queen's University Belfast and is also aimed at helping students develop skills in engineering and technology.

As part of the launch on Wednesday, Defence Minister Luke Pollard will visit Belfast along with Northern Ireland Office Minister Matthew Patrick.

They will be meeting local industry representatives and academics.

Northern Ireland is the region of the UK with the second lowest defence procurement spending according to MoD figures.

In 2024, £271m was spent, only ahead of the north east of England.

That compared to almost £8bn in the south east of England and almost £7bn in the south west.

However defence procurement has been rising in Northern Ireland in recent years, up from less than £100m in 2020.

This is almost entirely due to purchases of NLAW missile systems for Ukraine.

These are made by the French firm Thales at its factory in east Belfast.

The NLAW, which is a shoulder-fired anti-tank weapon, has been widely used by the Ukrainian Army in the war with Russia.

Defence spending in Northern Ireland is already expected to increase when work starts on a Royal Navy contract at the Harland and Wolff shipyard.

The Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly said the new deal would build on Northern Ireland's aerospace and defence heritage.

"This could be a real game changer," she told Good Morning Ulster.

"Northern Ireland has really strong track record in relation to aerospace and defence and security.

"Today is a positive day to highlight the excellence within those sectors."

Asked about wider support for the deal from the executive, Little-Pengelly said that she understood Economy Minister Caoimhe Archibald of Sinn Féin would not be attending the launch.

"I am absolutely more than prepared to step forward and to step up and champion this great industry. It creates a huge number of jobs," she said.

"Peace and stability comes through strong defence, that's the reality. The citizens of Northern Ireland and the UK and beyond need that strong defence."

Sinn Féin, the largest party on the NI Executive, has been critical of increased defence spending.

Last month the economy minister, Archibald, issued new guidance to the economic development agency Invest NI in respect of arms manufacturing.

The body was instructed by her deparetment to "eliminate any risk of public funds being used to support the manufacture of arms or their components that are used for genocide".