Invest NI Criticised Over Lack Of Employment

Colum Eastwood, SDLP Foyle MLA, has criticised Invest NI saying its investment in the Derry area is "not nearly enough".

Mr Eastwood's comments come after the latest figures from the Department of Enterprise revealed that less than 3% of the total financial assistance offered by Invest NI last year was in the Derry area.

In addition, just 1.4% of jobs supported by the organisation pay more than £26,000.

Of the 1,366 new jobs promoted, which pay more than £26,000, just seven were in Derry, Eastwood said.

He has now called for further investment for the area.

"The latest figures show that financial assistance from Invest NI in the Derry area was just 2.7% of the total across Northern Ireland which is simply not good enough for the people of our city," he stated. "It is not acceptable that just over 1% of the jobs promoted in Foyle by Invest NI last year offer what would be considered a good salary when compared with the Belfast constituencies where up to 95% of jobs promoted pay 25% above the average private sector wage.

"It has been clearly identified by Stormont's leadership that Derry's economic growth is vital to the prosperity of the entire North West region, yet incredibly the city seems to be getting no greater measure of support in terms of investment.

"The level of investment in our city needs to change dramatically in order for Derry to achieve its potential."

(JP/CD)