Business leaders in the North need convincing that the IRA is contemplating decommissioning its weapons as the threat of yet another suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly hangs over the economy.

There was muted reaction to Sinn FΘin president Mr Gerry Adams's statement yesterday that he had urged the IRA to take a "ground-breaking" step on the weapons issue.

Industry bodies have resolved to play the waiting game. They want to see if the promise of decommissioning holds good before committing their support to the latest development.

There was a noticeable sense of dΘjα vu yesterday among some industry leaders although none was prepared to offer a public assessment of the latest political developments.

There is a consensus among all the key business bodies in the North - from the Confederation of British Industry to the Federation of Small Businesses - that the Assembly has been good for business.

But recent surveys from the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and the Institute of Directors show that business confidence in the North is at an all-time low and many see the continuing political deadlock as a key reason for this. There is no doubt that business bodies would welcome any move that would rescue the ailing peace process but at this stage they are desperately frustrated by the stop-start approach to politics that has become the norm in Northern Ireland.

Their optimism in the peace process and the economic dividends it would deliver has gradually been eroded as one promise after another evaporates into the silence of mistrust from a rival political faction.

The business community in Northern Ireland knows a good deal when it sees one; their attention to detail means the difference between a profit and loss.

But many are now at a loss to see what is holding up this deal for Northern Ireland plc. For business leaders it is a simple mathematical equation: decommissioning is equal to political stability.

There is no appetite among a business community - which for more than 30 years has had to look nervously over its shoulder - for more political uncertainty.

It is not a question of loyalty to one side or the other, business leaders and the community that they represent want all guns to be taken out of the equation, be they republican or loyalist.

But after so many false starts a line has been drawn by all the business bodies in the North. They want proof, they want progress and they want real politics before they will give political leaders from any persuasion their full backing.

The Northern Ireland economy is facing one of its bleakest scenarios in more than a decade.

Inward investment inquiries had slumped long before the events of September 11th and significant job losses are in the pipeline.

While he was Minister of the Economy, Sir Reg Empey delivered a stark warning that the North could face up to 2,092 job losses - equivalent to 70,000 jobs in Britain - over the coming months.

A revised report from PricewaterhouseCoopers, the business advisers, has also warned that Northern Ireland's GDP could slow to 1 per cent next year in a worst case scenario.

Business leaders in the North are acutely conscious that they operate in a world where competition is a fact of life and every order is hard-won. That reality has been underlined by the impact of the global slowdown and the attacks in the US. They are not disillusioned by the peace process but they are realists and this time they will want proof that everyone is as committed to the Northern Ireland plc rescue deal as they are.