Special Attention must be payed to beleagured North-West - McClarty
Ulster Unionist MLA for East Londonderry David McClarty speaking in the Assembly today during a debate on the closure of the Seagate plant in Limavady called on the DETI Minister to give special attention to the North West Area
In a speech Mr McClarty said,
“The afternoon of 29th October 2007 was a black day for the Limavady and Northern Ireland economy, when the employees at Seagate’s Limavady plant were informed that they were to lose their jobs.
This was truly devastating news for Northern Ireland’s economic ambitions, and has led to considerable concern for the economic future of Limavady and the surrounding North West region. Unfortunately the news got worse for an already beleaguered Limavady community when Huco Lightronics, an electronic firm, announced its intention to close in January 2008, with a loss of 70 jobs.
The economic consequences for Limavady and the North West continue to be of serious concern. It is estimated that unemployment could double in the area. Furthermore, it is also reported that these latest redundancies could mean that
So what do we need to see happen in terms of a governmental response?
I know already that the work of assisting the Seagate workforce to re-engage with the labour-market, having regard for their skills profile and geographical location, is already underway. This is extremely important. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, along with Invest NI, and the Department of Employment and Learning must work diligently to find alternative employment for the Seagate employees who want to remain economically active.
These workers are extremely talented and must be given every opportunity to avail of retraining and educational programmes to enable them to remain in employment. In addition to this, I would be grateful if the Minister could inform the House if there are any renewed plans, as a result of the Seagate job losses, to highlight and promote the north-west region of Northern Ireland as a prime location for investment at the Investment Conference being hosted by the Executive in the spring of next year.
I believe that the North West must be given special attention by DETI, and I look forward to the Minister’s response on this point.
I want to see this Assembly and the Executive act now, so that we can offer a future of hope and economic prosperity for this already beleaguered and fraught community.”