Why Northern Ireland Needs to Use All 24 Hours of the Day — and Why the Strangford Lough Crossing (SLC) Is a Critical First Step

Northern Ireland’s long-term productivity problem is well known. Output per worker lags the UK average, investment is low, and our rural areas suffer from restricted accessibility and limited economic participation.

But the biggest unspoken barrier to NI productivity is simple:

Too much of the economy is switched off for too much of the day.

Across NI, capital assets — machinery, workshops, roads, ferries, and clinical equipment — sit idle for 16 hours out of every 24.

While other regions worldwide run multi-shift or 24-hour economic systems, NI still operates on a single-shift, daytime-only model.
This is especially true on the Ards Peninsula, where transport is constrained by a single bottleneck: the Strangford Ferry.

The Strangford Lough Crossing is not just a bridge.
It is the mechanism that unlocks a new, more flexible, more productive economic model for the entire region.

1. NI cannot improve productivity until infrastructure runs 24 hours — SLC makes this possible

The ferry:

• stops early
• runs limited capacity
• cannot support night-time logistics
• does not carry heavy vehicles
• is unreliable in bad weather
• creates a “curfew effect” for the Peninsula

This limits:

• labour mobility
• emergency travel
• access to services
• night-shift working
• SME and contractor operations
• tourism flows

A fixed link transforms a restricted, 10-hour corridor into a 24-hour economic spine.

2. The world’s most productive regions rely on 24-hour connectivity — not restricted ferries

Netherlands (Rotterdam)

Full 24/7 logistics throughput → highest port productivity globally.
Bridges, tunnels, and fixed links everywhere.

Japan

Night-time construction, 24hr vehicle servicing, and seamless regional transport corridors.

South Korea

Manufacturing plants and supply chains run 18–22 hours/day.

Republic of Ireland

Dublin Port, M50, and new fixed links operate continuously — supporting pharma, tech, and exports.

Northern Ireland

Strangford Lough remains a daytime-only choke point from another century.

The SLC aligns NI with modern economic practice: continuous access, continuous mobility, continuous productivity.

3. The Ards Peninsula has massive untapped potential that cannot be realised on daytime-only infrastructure

A fixed link would:

• enable mechanics, trades, engineers, nurses, and shift workers to travel freely at night
• eliminate ferry queues and “time penalties”
• integrate the Peninsula fully into the Belfast Metropolitan labour market
• allow tourism to operate into the evening
• support 24-hour SME models (e.g., 24 Garage-style shared workshops)
• deliver genuine resilience for kinship carers, emergency responders, and businesses

The ferry limits when people can work.
A bridge allows people to work when it suits them.

That is productivity.

4. NI’s public services become more efficient when the transport network is not artificially restricted

Hospitals, particularly in Belfast, run extended theatres, late CT/MRI lists, and night-time emergency operations.

But patients, carers, and staff on the Peninsula must either:

• drive the long way around, or
• rely on a ferry that stops early and has long gaps

A fixed crossing supports:

• night appointments
• emergency transfers
• late-shift clinical staff
• social care flexibility

NI cannot expand 24-hour public services if major communities remain cut off at night.

5. Trades and contractors lose thousands of productive hours each year due to ferry limitations

Night shift work — the backbone of productivity in most advanced economies — is almost impossible on the Peninsula:

• resurfacing crews
• utilities workers
• telecoms engineers
• joinery, plumbing, and M&E contractors
• breakdown and recovery services
• mobile mechanics

They simply cannot move equipment across the Lough after certain times.

This forces a 9–5-only economy, even for industries that normally run 24/7 elsewhere.

A bridge removes that cap instantly.

6. The SLC unlocks 24-hour tourism, hospitality, and recreation

Tourism spend increases dramatically when:

• visitors can stay later into the evening
• restaurants can run longer
• event organisers don’t worry about the last ferry
• accommodation providers can attract guests who travel freely at all hours

Worldwide evidence:

• Barcelona
• Copenhagen
• Vancouver
• Rotterdam

…all increased tourism output by extending operating hours and improving night-time transport.

The Peninsula could replicate this immediately with a fixed crossing.

7. The SLC makes small rural businesses viable in a way no subsidy ever will

Government subsidies treat symptoms.
Better infrastructure solves causes.

A fixed link reduces:

• fuel costs
• travel times
• scheduling constraints
• vehicle wear
• staff reliability issues

And it increases:

• labour pool availability
• customer reach
• ability to run evening hours
• emergency call-outs
• trade competition

A garage, bakery, workshop, farm service, or mechanic benefits more from free movement than from any grant.

8. NI cannot afford to waste 16 hours of every day — the SLC is a productivity multiplier

The Strangford Ferry is a single-shift system:
It operates limited hours, limited capacity, and on a fixed timetable.

A bridge is a multi-shift system:

• 24-hour access
• infinite departures
• no queues
• heavy vehicle compatible
• weather-proof

The productivity uplift comes from:

1. Time saved (both sides)
2. Asset utilisation increased
3. Labour mobility expanded
4. Night work enabled
5. Tourism prolonged
6. Public services optimised
7. Emergency response improved

No other project under £200m in NI produces this combination.

**Conclusion:

Northern Ireland must start using all 24 hours of the day — and the Strangford Lough Crossing is the single most important project to make that possible.**

A bridge is not just a road.
It is the key that opens a 24-hour economy for:

• Portaferry
• Strangford
• the entire Ards Peninsula
• and NI as a whole

It aligns NI with global best practice and unleashes productivity gains currently impossible under a ferry-based connectivity system.

If NI wants better growth, better wages, and better competitiveness, it must remove the artificial time limits on economic life.

And the first step is building the bridge.