High Technology (Hansard, 20 January 1994)

§ 3. Mr. Fabricant
To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps his Department is taking to promote investment by high technology manufacturers in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. Tim Smith)
The Government actively target and encourage inward investment in Northern Ireland by high technology companies and there have been many notable successes in the past year. Companies already located in Northern Ireland are also encouraged to increase their technology base through the provision of assistance for research and development and business expansion.

§ Mr. Fabricant
I am grateful for that helpful answer. May I take this opportunity of congratulating the Minister on his promotion to the Front Bench? He will be aware that NTL, the privatised arm of the old engineering division of the Independent Broadcasting Authority, is now a world leader in digital audio processing and is developing techniques to provide 16 channels for satellite broadcasting in just one channel space. However, is he aware that Audio Processing Technology from Northern Ireland is providing a vital element to that research? Does he agree that Northern Ireland is now becoming the silicon valley of western Europe?

§ Mr. Smith
I am grateful to my hon. Friend for his kind personal remarks. He has drawn attention to one high technology manufacturer in Northern Ireland, but I am glad to say that there have been a number of successes recently. Seagate Technology from the United States has announced a 500-job project in Londonderry, Valence Technology from the United States will create 660 jobs in Belfast and Daesung Circuits from Korea will create 120 jobs in Ballymena. That is good news for the Northern Ireland economy and for jobs in Northern Ireland and I am sure that the whole House will welcome it.

§ Mr. Clifford Forsythe
Without wishing to test the patience of the House, may I congratulate the Minister on behalf of my hon. Friends? He is welcome to Northern Ireland and, although we miss his predecessor, the hon. Member for South Ribble (Mr. Atkins), we wish him every success.
Naturally, we welcome any inward investment into Northern Ireland that the Industrial Development Board manages to bring in. Will the Minister join me in encouraging and appealing to the media to honour the confidentiality of sensitive business projects that may be under negotiation, and to hold their hand until an official announcement is made? Will he continue, as his predecessor did, to consider the interests of firms in Northern Ireland that require financial assistance?

§ Mr. Smith
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman and appreciate the warm welcome that I have received in Northern Ireland.
The hon. Gentleman made an important point about confidentiality. It is vital that details of confidential negotiations should not be disclosed prematurely, as that could damage the outcome. I share his view that we should pursue a twin-track approach to investment; indigenous investment in high technology is just as important as inward investment.

§ Sir James Kilfedder
May I join other hon. Members in congratulating the Minister on his appointment? He will not yet be aware that my constituency of North Down has an unacceptably high level of unemployment, particularly among school leavers and graduates. Will he take effective action to encourage investors to establish high-tech factories in North Down, where great skill and talent are waiting to be tapped?

§ Mr. Smith
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. The Industrial Development Board is keen to attract inward investment to all of the Province, including the hon. Gentleman's constituency. I recognise the importance of what he said about unemployment, although we have recently had the good news that unemployment in Northern Ireland has fallen below 100,000.

Mr. William O'Brien
As the Northern Ireland Industrial Development Board plays a keen part in attracting high-tech industries into the region and must provide infrastructure and factories to encourage people to locate there, what is available to the board to ensure that new high-tech factories can be attracted into the region?
Will the Minister take as read the congratulations from both sides of the House?

§ Mr. Smith
Considerable resources are available to the Industrial Development Board for attracting high technology manufacturers into the Province, but the Province is in competition with many other regions in the European Community for that highly mobile investment.