§ 11. Mr. TrimbleTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether he will list the number of new jobs that have been created in Northern Ireland as a result of outside investment in the last three years.
§ Mr. AtkinsDuring the past three years a total of 34 inward investment projects have been attracted to Northern Ireland, offering the prospect of 3,700 new jobs. Typically, employment builds up over a period of several years, and by the end of March this year, more than 1,200 of those new jobs were in existence.
§ Mr. TrimbleDoes the Minister agree that unfortunately there are signs that inward investment is being deterred as a result of the considerable administrative and other burdens imposed on firms in Northern Ireland by the fair employment industry? Many firms leave the United States to escape the problem of quotas for virtually everything, and they do not want to receive the same sort of hassle in Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. AtkinsIt is fair to say that a number of companies with American origins are involved in Northern Ireland industry, as the hon. Gentleman knows. They are very welcome and they are the best advertisement to their fellows back home of just how fair our fair employment legislation is. We have the toughest legislation anywhere in the western world, which gives the lie to suggestions made in certain parts of the United States that the so-called MacBride principles are in any way helpful to the interests of Northern Ireland—the creation of new jobs by inward investment from companies in the United States and elsewhere.