NI Conservatives’ spokesman, Johnny Andrews, has described the latest economic figures as ‘encouraging’, but he noted that the executive ‘should be doing more to prevent Northern Ireland from lagging behind the rest of the UK and the Republic of Ireland’.
“The latest Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) shows long overdue signs of improvement”, Johnny explained. “The government’s economic policy is beginning to pay dividends, as well as the specific help the prime minister and chancellor are providing for Northern Ireland. However there is no room for complacency and the executive should be doing far more locally to create jobs and prosperity”.
“The prime minister’s economic deal encouraged the creation of enterprise zones, which can act as hotbeds of economic activity, and the executive has been handed more borrowing powers to build schools, roads and hospitals. To date there has been little progress getting this activity started. Neither has the executive got to grips with the shortage of skills in science and technology subjects. We need strong support and a strategic plan for sectors like software and food and drink and, perhaps most of all, we need urgent progress on creating a peaceful, shared society in Northern Ireland.”
“This executive still has some way to go to prove it will put creating jobs at the very heart of its programme. It also needs to show it can cut down on its own waste, so that our tax monies are used effectively. The new finance minister has made some encouraging noises around public sector reform and he must see through initiatives to save money and increase competition around public services. We need an executive that is business friendly and whose priorities are jobs, jobs and more jobs.”