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Northern Ireland must end its over-dependence on the public sector, Owen Paterson has said.
"Within Northern Ireland spending decisions will be for local ministers at Stormont to decide," the NI secretary told the Conservative party conference in Birmingham.
"It's up to them to ensure that public money is spent more efficiently and to start tackling the long-term costs of segregation.
"Under devolution economic development is mainly their responsibility.
"But there's an important role for the UK government too.
"So Northern Ireland will have to play its part; because this is a team effort and we're all in it together."
Paterson told conference that all parties accept that Northern Ireland is over-dependent on the public sector.
"After 13 years of Labour, public spending accounts for a staggering 77.6 per cent of GDP," he said.
"This is simply unsustainable.
"In the past three years I've been in Northern Ireland every week and have visited some world class companies.
"There just aren't enough of them. So we need to expand the private sector.
"That's why, along with the Treasury and Stormont ministers, we're working on a long term-plan to re-balance the economy.
"We're examining proposals to turn Northern Ireland into an enterprise zone.
"And, as we promised at the election, we'll look at potential mechanisms for changing the corporation tax rate in Northern Ireland to attract major new investment."
Paterson also said that the province is still in danger from "some dangerous armed groups out there who want to destroy what's been achieved and drag Northern Ireland back to a bloody past".
"And even though they have virtually no popular support, their activities have increased in recent years," he said.
"We don't underestimate the threat they pose. But they offer nothing and we will not let them succeed.
"Co-operation between this government, the local justice minister, the PSNI and our partners in the Republic of Ireland is unprecedented.
"And we'll do everything in our power to pursue these criminals, to disrupt them and prevent them from achieving their aims.
"We will never compromise on security. And we will always stand by our fellow citizens in Northern Ireland."
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