UUP gain unanimous support for Business proposals

In the Assembly today the Ulster Unionist Party gained all-party support for a motion which called for the Minister of Enterprise Trade and Investment to refocus her Department’s policies and resources on support for small and medium sized enterprises. Leslie Cree MLA, Ulster Unionist Party Spokesperson for Enterprise Trade and Investment called on the Minister to become more of a champion for local businesses and to be more visionary in her approach.

In a statement Mr. Cree said:

"In these difficult times Northern Ireland needs a champion for business and enterprise that can give a vision for the future of Northern Ireland’s economy. Currently the Minister for Enterprise Trade and Investment, whilst busy, is not delivering that vision.

The Minister is sticking with Programme for Government Targets and policies that were written in a totally different economic climate. The Foreign Direct Investment boom is over and we can no longer rely on a bloated property market to drive our economic growth and construction industry.

We need to be planning for the future building upon a strong core economy based on outward looking small and medium sized businesses. Whilst seeking to attract FDI, we need to do more to help our local businesses get through this tough period and prepare them to have a competitive advantage when the upturn eventually comes.

This involves the Minister starting to co-ordinate an outlook for the Economy that the rest of the Executive can work towards. The Minister needs to be helping businesses take greater advantage of green technology opportunities and energy saving measures – the position of the environment Minister is of no help on these issues.

The announcement made by Wright Brothers today that it plans to make 235 redundancies highlights the urgency of the situation. Communities across Northern Ireland are being pushed to the limit by this recession and it is of paramount importance that we are doing the right things in the short and long-term. To quote Ian Paisley, speaking in the chamber today ‘we need a plan’. I hope Arlene Foster is listening to her former leader.

The Minister needs to be a champion for business putting pressure on banks to release more lending to companies, ensuring interest rate cuts are handed on to mortgage holders and delivering a direction for the future.

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