evidence: To improve Northern Ireland's economic recovery and strengthen its long-term performance, Northern Ireland leaders are seeking to promote export-led growth, decrease Northern Ireland's economic dependency on the public sector by growing the private sector, and attract more foreign direct investment. Reducing Northern Ireland's economic dependency on the public sector (which accounts for about 70% of the region's GDP and employs roughly 30% of its workforce) and devolving power over corporation tax from London to Belfast to help increase foreign investment were key issues addressed in the cross-party negotiations in both 2014 and 2015.54 In 2015, the UK passed legislation to permit the devolution of corporation tax-setting power to the Northern Ireland Assembly (subject to certain financial conditions). The Fresh Start Agreement set April 2018 as the target date for introducing a devolved corporate tax rate of 12.5% in Northern Ireland (the same rate as in the Republic of Ireland). In the absence of devolved government, however, reducing Northern Ireland's corporate tax rate is on hold.