WIP

                                                            Ten Questions with Norman Houston

                                                                             by: Michael Graham

How did you get to where you are today?

Essentially I am a public servant and I entered the civil service straight after university. I have been very fortunate in my career in the fact that it has taken a number of very positive turns from a very early stage. Many people going into the civil service would not have the opportunities that I have had. The big difference for me came in my late twenties. I transferred to work for the industrial development board for Northern Ireland which had an international dimension to it. Its key role was to encourage investment to come to Northern Ireland from overseas. I was part of international promotion and my main role was to put forward a positive aspect of Northern Ireland in Asia , North America and Europe. Working with people from Japan, China, Germany and many other countries developed my interest in International Civil Service Work. Several years ago I worked in the USA for four years. After a spell back in Northern Ireland with responsibility for tourism, the post of director of the Northern Ireland Bureau in Washington then became available which I applied for and got.

Can you sum up your role as the Director of the Northern Ireland Bureau?

I am very much a political figure. I deal with the department of state, commerce and labour. I also have to deal with people in congress and governors of the various states.

How has interest in Northern Ireland changed since the end of the troubles?

Interest among Americans has probably decreased. At the moment America is fixated with the current economic crisis and with the wars in Iraq and Afganistan. However there are still some very prolific people who work on behalf of the Northern Ireland Bureau in the States and we are very grateful for them for doing that.I think the decline in interest reflects how our own political system has matured. People at home should not be surprised or disappointed that Northern Ireland is not at the centre of the universe.

How do you find representing the whole of Northern Ireland, both Unionist and Nationalist views?

Some people (especially Americans) may find the idea of an a-political civil servant quite strange. However I do not find this strange. I have been in the civil service all of my life and I have always found it a-political and professional.When I meet with my Irish counterparts they will have a direct brief from Dublin instructing them what to say. I may not have that as our government may not have come to a uniform official position. Often I have to express the views of both sides of the argument if there are conflicting views.It would be very unprofessional and dangerous for me to let my own views affect how I do my job.

What are the greatest challenges facing Northern Ireland today?

We have overcome many political challenges, many of which people did not think we could accomplish. However we now have very serious economic challenges ahead. We have a situation in which we lost a lot of bright young people who go to study in university outside Northern Ireland. While the peace process has made life very comfortable for many people in Northern Ireland, many people have been left behind and have gained nothing from the process.  One of our greatest challenges is to create an environment where these people can experience the rewards of the peace process. This will require a lot of policy work in areas of West Belfast, South Down and other areas.

Which policy changes would you believe are necessary?

We need to look very carefully at our education system and the type of training that is offered in our high schools. We tend to cater very well for those who want to go into the professions, however I believe that we need to look at the level of IT education that is available. The government has been focusing on the STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) initiative; because more students tend to choose humanities subjects and fewer are choosing to study the sciences. We also need to consider the future of Northern Ireland in terms of industry. We aren’t going to be a heavy manufacturing base so we will have to focus on smaller companies but with high profile and high quality jobs. Also we have barely scraped the surface in regards to our tourism potential. Northern Ireland is largely unspoiled and there is much potential to develop a fairly sophisticated tourism product. We can attract those interested in history and culture and those who like angling and horse riding. I do think these parts of our tourism potential have barely been developed.

In your experiences do people feel that Northern Ireland is an unsafe place to visit?

I think there may be a residue of that however I tend to find that most people are much more aware of how the situation in Northern Ireland has improved. Our main problem is in the marketing of Northern Ireland. Unfortunately people’s knowledge of Northern Ireland stems from the past. In fact if you were to consider that we have sixty golf courses, two of which are world class, we have the Giants Causeway and of course Belfast is the home to the Titanic. Northern Ireland has the only remaining completely walled city in Ireland and one of the finest examples of walled cities in Europe.