Bill McKendry, from Strangford Northern Ireland Conservatives, has urged Sammy Wilson to "put his shoulder to the wheel" and help slash the deficit.
"You have to admire Sammy Wilson’s ‘chutzpah’. In the face of an American debt crisis, meltdown in the eurozone and falling world markets, he hastily convenes a summit of business leaders at Stormont, in order to give reporters the impression that he is doing something decisive about the economy."
"Northern Ireland’s wealth creators aren’t so easily fooled. They know when they’re being used as window dressing for a politician’s photo opportunity."
"It is Westminster which has the levers to navigate the latest crisis in the world economy. In fact the UK is in a better position than the USA and most of the eurozone countries because the Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer has taken decisive action to tackle the deficit. It must be said that the DUP has not always given George Osborne its full support."
"Let the finance minister have his meetings, his delusions of grandeur and his unenforceable pleas to local banks, But let us not forget that our economic wellbeing depends upon the ability of the government at Westminster to tackle Labour’s debt crisis."
"Locally we need to do our bit , in order to create a brighter future for our children and grand-children. And yes Sammy, that means you too. Put your shoulder to the wheel, rather than continually carping about the cost of Corporation Tax reductions or pretending that you can negotiate a better deal."