Foyle Waterfront - General - Londonderry, Northern Ireland
Date: 15 Apr 2008
"A real economic turning point for the North West" is Colm Cavanagh's welcome for today's announcement by Brian Cowan TD, Irish Minister for Finance, at his meeting with Peter Robinson MP MLA, Northern Ireland Minister for Finance.
"Here is real, positive, productive, win-win, cross-Border co-operation", said Cavanagh, Managing Director of Derry's Foyle Waterfront, "At a time when the global economy is having difficulty, we have been thrown a lifeline. Now it is up to us to make best use of it".
"This is the first time that the North West has had any significant tax inducement to call on", said Cavanagh. "We have the people", he says, "and we have the broadband facilities. Now we need to have the buildings ready for them; the appropriate FE and university training in place. Derry city is 11,700 jobs short of even the average UK economic activity rate. Let no one fail to make fullest, urgent use of this taxation benefit to grow the economy and jobs in the North West".
N Ireland businesses and politicians have been calling for a tax rate equal to the Republic's. But the Treasury in London would not allow this. "But the demand for more workers for Dublin's Financial Services industry in Dublin may prove our blessing" says Cavanagh. "This will allow Dublin companies to open branches in Northern Ireland. Let us make sure they see the benefits of opening up in Derry-Strabane-Limavady. This will even assist the economy of east Donegal".
Colm Cavanagh has called before for urgent action while the UK and Irish economies were very strong. "If a down-turn comes before Derry has benefited," he said publicly in 2006 and 2007, "we in the North West will be at the back of the queue for jobs". That scenario seemed to have arrived, with the downturn in the western economies. Building companies and estate agents are paying off staff. "But now", says Cavanagh, "this announcement has lit up the economic sky for us".
This news will certainly be welcomed by the construction industry which has been paying off building workers in recent months.
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