§ 11. Dr. GodmanTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make a statement on the shipbuilding industry in Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. NeedhamHarland and Wolff was returned to private sector ownership in September last year. I understand that the company's current order book extends into 1993.
§ Dr. GodmanI am pleased to hear of those developments, and my pleasure will be shared by many of my constituents who have relatives and friends in Northern Ireland. May I press the Minister to resist proposals—offered, I think, by ministerial colleagues— that the European Community shipbuilding intervention fund be further reduced? Similarly, will he urge Harland and Wolff, where it uses those funds, to purchase engines and equipment from manufacturers in the United Kingdom?
§ Mr. NeedhamThe very fact that Harland and Wolff is now in the private sector means that almost all aspects of its business are going up: productivity is up, orders are up, and confidence is up. The only thing going down are its losses. Morale is up. That is all due to the fact that Harland and Wolff is out on its own and has a full order book which will last until the middle of the decade.