The Department for the Economy (DfE, ) is a

devolved Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

government department in the

Northern Ireland Executive The Northern Ireland Executive (Irish language, Irish: ''Feidhmeannas Thuaisceart Éireann'', Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster Scots: ''Norlin Airlan Executive'') is the devolution, devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branc ...

. The minister with overall responsibility for the department is the Minister for the Economy. DfE was renamed in 2016; it was previously called the Department for Enterprise, Trade and Investment.

Aim

DfE's overall aim is to "promote the development of a globally competitive economy." Its stated objective is to "encourage the development of a high value added, innovative, enterprising and competitive economy, leading to greater wealth creation and job opportunities for all."

Responsibilities

The department is responsible for the following policy areas:http://www.detini.gov.uk DETI * company registration (prior to commencement of the

Companies Act 2006 The Companies Act 2006 (c. 46) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which forms the primary source of UK company law. The act was brought into force in stages, with the final provision being commenced on 1 October 2009. It largel ...

on 1 October 2009) * consumer affairs * economic policy development * energy * employment law matters * health and safety at work * insolvency * mineral development * tourism Some economic matters are

reserved Reserved is a Polish apparel retailer headquartered in Gdańsk, Poland. It was founded in 1999 and remains the flagship brand of the LPP (company), LPP group, which has more than 2,200 retail stores located in over 38 countries and also owns su ...

to Westminster and are therefore not devolved: * the

foreshore The intertidal zone or foreshore is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide; in other words, it is the part of the littoral zone within the tidal range. This area can include several types of Marine habitat, habitats ...

, sea bed and

subsoil Subsoil is the layer of soil under the topsoil on the surface of the ground. Like topsoil, it is composed of a variable mixture of small particles such as sand, silt and clay, but with a much lower percentage of organic matter and humus. The su ...

and their natural resources *

postal services The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sy ...

* import and export controls, external trade * national minimum wage *

financial services Financial services are service (economics), economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of tertiary sector of the economy, service sector activities, especially as concerns finan ...

financial market A financial market is a market in which people trade financial securities and derivatives at low transaction costs. Some of the securities include stocks and bonds, raw materials and precious metals, which are known in the financial marke ...

s * intellectual property *

units of measurement A unit of measurement, or unit of measure, is a definite magnitude (mathematics), magnitude of a quantity, defined and adopted by convention or by law, that is used as a standard for measurement of the same kind of quantity. Any other qua ...

telecommunications Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

and internet services * consumer safety in relation to goods In addition, some matters are excepted and were not intended for devolution: * taxation *

national insurance National Insurance (NI) is a fundamental component of the welfare state in the United Kingdom. It acts as a form of social security, since payment of NI contributions establishes entitlement to certain state benefits for workers and their famil ...

* currency *

nuclear energy Nuclear energy may refer to: *Nuclear power, the use of sustained nuclear fission or nuclear fusion to generate heat and electricity *Nuclear binding energy, the energy needed to fuse or split a nucleus of an atom *Nuclear potential energy, the pot ...

DfE's main counterparts in the

United Kingdom Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

are: * the

Department for Business and Trade The Department for Business and Trade (DBT) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was established on 7 February 2023 by a February 2023 British cabinet resh ...

(DBT) * the

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It was established on 7 February 2023 by a February 2023 British ...

(DESNZ) * the

Department for Culture, Media and Sport The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It holds the responsibility for Culture of the United Kingdom, culture a ...

(DCMS) In the

Irish Government The Government of Ireland () is the executive authority of Ireland, headed by the , the head of government. The government – also known as the cabinet – is composed of ministers, each of whom must be a member of the , which consists of ...

, its main counterparts are: * the

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military * Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

; * the

Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications The Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment () is a department of the Government of Ireland that is responsible for the telecommunications and broadcasting sectors and regulates, protects and develops the natural resources of Ireland. ...

; * the

Department of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government a ...

;

Agencies

DfE has four agencies, established as non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs), to assist in strategy implementation: *

Invest Northern Ireland Invest Northern Ireland (Invest NI) is Northern Ireland's regional economic development agency. It is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) of the Department for the Economy (DfE). According to DETI's website, it "supports business growth and ...

(Invest NI), which supports business growth and inward investment, promotes innovation, research and development and in-company training, encourages exports and supports local economic development and company start up; * the

Tourism Northern Ireland Tourism Northern Ireland, also known as Tourism NI, is a non-departmental public body of the Department for the Economy. Its primary objective is to promote Northern Ireland as a tourist destination to domestic tourists, from within Northern Irel ...

(Tourism NI), which is responsible for the development, promotion and marketing of Northern Ireland as a tourist destination; * the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI), which is responsible for health, safety and welfare at work; and * the

General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland The General Consumer Council for Northern Ireland (GCCNI) was created by the Government in 1985 and is funded by the Department for the Economy (DfE). The body aims to represent consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, ...

(GCCNI), which is responsible for promoting and safeguarding the interests of consumers and campaigning for the best possible standards of service and protection.

History

A Ministry of Commerce was established at the foundation of Northern Ireland in June 1921, and was subsequently known as the Department of Commerce and Department of Economic Development under

direct rule In political science, direct rule is when an imperial or central power takes direct control over the legislature, executive and civil administration of an otherwise largely self-governing territory. Examples Chechnya In 1991, Chechen separat ...

(introduced in March 1972). An economic ministry was also included in the

briefly established in 1974. The Department of Economic Development also incorporated elements of training and employment policy, now held by the

Department for Employment and Learning The Department for Employment and Learning (DEL), (; Ulster Scots: ''Depairtment for Employ an Learnin''), was a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive. The minister with overall responsibility for t ...

. Following a

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

on the

Belfast Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA) or Belfast Agreement ( or ; or ) is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April (Good Friday) 1998 that ended most of the violence of the Troubles, an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland since the la ...

on 23 May 1998 and the granting of

royal assent Royal assent is the method by which a monarch formally approves an act of the legislature, either directly or through an official acting on the monarch's behalf. In some jurisdictions, royal assent is equivalent to promulgation, while in othe ...

to the

Northern Ireland Act 1998 __NOTOC__ The Northern Ireland Act 1998 (c. 47) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which allowed Westminster to devolve power to Northern Ireland, after decades of direct rule. It renamed the New Northern Ireland Assembly, establi ...

on 19 November 1998, a

Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...

and

were established by the

under Prime Minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He was Leader ...

. The Department of Economic Development was renamed as the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment and granted a reduced remit. DETI was therefore one of the six direct rule Northern Ireland departments that continued in existence after devolution in December 1999, following the

and The Departments (Northern Ireland) Order 1999. A devolved minister took office on 2 December 1999. Devolution was suspended for four periods, during which the department came under the responsibility of

ministers from the

Northern Ireland Office The Northern Ireland Office (NIO; , Ulster-Scots: ''Norlin Airlann Oaffis'') is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for handling Northern Ireland affairs. The NIO is led by the Secretary of S ...

: * between 12 February 2000 and 30 May 2000; * on 11 August 2001; * on 22 September 2001; * between 15 October 2002 and 8 May 2007. Since 8 May 2007, devolution has operated without interruption. The Independent Review of Economic Policy, which reported in September 2009, recommended a single economic policy department within the

, which would merge DETI and at least part of the

. On 11 January 2012, the First Minister and deputy First Minister, Peter Robinson and

Martin McGuinness James Martin Pacelli McGuinness (; 23 May 1950 – 21 March 2017) was an Irish republican politician and statesman for Sinn Féin and a leader within the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) during The Troubles. He was the deputy First Minist ...

announced their intentions to abolish the Department for Employment and Learning. The department's functions would be "divided principally" between the

Department of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...

and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment "in an agreed manner". The proposal was resisted by the Alliance Party, which viewed it as "power grab" by the

Democratic Unionist Party The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) is a Unionism in Ireland, unionist, Ulster loyalism, loyalist, British nationalist and national conservative political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1971 during the Troubles by Ian Paisley, who ...

and

Sinn Féin Sinn Féin ( ; ; ) is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The History of Sinn Féin, original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffit ...

, but was approved on 18 January 2012. No timescale for the abolition was outlined and the department remained in operation, as of late March 2012. DETI was heavily criticised by the Northern Ireland Audit Office for its mismanagement of a

broadband In telecommunications, broadband or high speed is the wide-bandwidth (signal processing), bandwidth data transmission that exploits signals at a wide spread of frequencies or several different simultaneous frequencies, and is used in fast Inter ...

scheme starting in 2004 and carried out by Bytel Networks, which saw Bytel receive over a million

euro The euro (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

s in a European Union grant for equipment that was never used. DETI subsequently sued Bytel in an attempt to reclaim more than four million euros. In 2016, the

Renewable Heat Incentive scandal The Renewable Heat Incentive scandal (RHI scandal), also referred to as RHIgate and the Cash for Ash scandal, is a political scandal in Northern Ireland that centres on a failed renewable energy (wood pellet burning) incentive scheme that has be ...

came to light which was a botched scheme that was run by DETI, now Department for the Economy. The minister in charge at the time,

Arlene Foster Arlene Isobel Foster, Baroness Foster of Aghadrumsee (née Kelly; born 17 July 1970), is a British broadcaster and politician from Northern Ireland who is serving as Chair of Intertrade UK since September 2024. She previously served as First ...

, faced pressure to resign as the scheme cost the NI Executive £400m over 20 years.

Ministers for the Economy

Direct rule ministers

During the periods of suspension, the following ministers of the

were responsible for the department: * Adam Ingram (2000) * Ian Pearson (2002–04) * Barry Gardiner (2004–05) * Angela Smith (2005–06) *

Maria Eagle Maria Eagle (born 17 February 1961) is a British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Liverpool Garston, previously Garston and Halewood, since 1997 Unit ...

(2006–07)

References

External links

DfE
* {{Northern Ireland Executive Northern Ireland Executive Economy of Northern Ireland Trade ministries

Aim