BUSINESS REACTION:THE NORTH'S business community, which has been frustrated by the slow pace of negotiations and the Executive's apparent inability to solve local economic issues, welcomed the deal.
Glyn Roberts, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association, said small business owners across the North, regardless of town or county, would welcome the new DUP/Sinn Féin deal.
Yesterday was a “good day for the economy”, he said, adding: “Political stability is an essential element in building a successful economy, and I hope that the Castle agreement plays a role in that regard.”
Director of business lobby group CBI Northern Ireland, Nigel Smyth, said the interests of all of the people in the North were best served by “having a local devolved administration”.
He added the “agreement is very, very encouraging. While much has been achieved by the Executive, there is a great deal that needs to be delivered in the programme for government.
“With the economy in such a fragile state, there are significant challenges to address. It’s essential that we work together to stimulate growth and to address rising unemployment.”
Declan Kelly, the US economic envoy to Northern Ireland, said the fact that parties in the North could work together to reach a resolution on difficult issues was an important step forward.
“From a business standpoint, this agreement sends a clear message to investors all over the world, including potential investors from the United States, that Northern Ireland continues to make tremendous progress in becoming one of the most attractive in the world for inward investment and economic development,” Mr Kelly said.
Joanne Stuart, chairman of the Institute of Directors in Northern Ireland and one of the members of Mr Kelly’s US:NI working group, said she believed the new Hillsborough agreement would deliver a timely boost for the local economy.
“This will contribute to the image of stability in our political structures, which will in turn impact positively on the confidence of local businesses and of external investors in the future of Northern Ireland. We hope the Executive can now return its focus to economic issues.”.
However it was Peter Bunting, general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, who gave voice to the real concerns shared by many over how successful the Executive can now be in taking “firm and fast action on the economy”.
“It is crucial that the primacy of politics is seen to work and is seen to deliver, especially on the economy, and we sincerely hope that the promise of a new US-backed investment conference delivers on what this society needs most – more high-quality and sustainable employment,” said Mr Bunting.
