Economy Minister, Sir Reg Empey, has warned that the economy of Northern Ireland is currently facing its stiffest test in over a decade, following the widespread loss of thousands of jobs in the province’s airline and aerospace industries.

Addressing the Assembly on Monday 1 October, Sir Reg said: “In just six days, Northern Ireland has been dealt a number of severe blows. And I have to inform the House today that there is a strong likelihood of more bleak economic news on the way.

“Even before the appalling events of the 11 September, all the indicators were pointing to troubled waters ahead. What happened in New York, Washington and Pittsburgh served to catapult us into economic crisis.”

The financial fall-out of the terror attacks is set to touch the livelihood of thousands of people in the province, as Bombardier Aerospace, British Airways and Aer Lingus have already announced redundancies that amount to 2,200 job losses. Economic momentum means that hundreds more who work in ‘downstream’ businesses are now waiting to see how they will be affected.

While it has been calculated that, on a proportional level, the loss of around 2,000 jobs to the Northern Ireland economy is the equivalent of up to 70,000 jobs in the UK, the Minister cautioned against taking a pessimistic approach to the issue, stating that there existed “a world of difference between realistic assessment and self-fulfilling gloom”. He pointed out that companies such as Bombardier had successfully overcome such setbacks in the past, the most serious being the loss of 1,500 jobs with the collapse of Fokker. Soon afterwards, the company emerged from the turmoil to become more competitive and over the past year, had recruited 1,500 as part of a £50 million growth plan across all its factories.

Reaffirming his commitment to positive and decisive action, Sir Reg added that time spent catastrophising could be better spent considering ways to set about reinvigorating the global economy, outlining several immediate strategies aimed at ensuring the local economy is protected from the negative effects of what he described as “uncharted waters”.

He said: “This will be an extremely difficult year. But the statistics show that the local economy is now more resilient and adaptable than ever before. Northern Ireland's high rate of business survivals after 36 months - 76.2 per cent compared to a UK average of 61 per cent - owes much to the support that LEDU provides. In addition, LEDU will assist some of those facing redundancy to consider starting their own enterprises.

“We must continue to focus resources on the entrepreneurship, innovation and creativity that will enable Northern Ireland to come through the global upheaval with as little damage to the fundamentals of the local economy as possible,” he added. (CL)