§ Mr. William RossTo ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many persons in Northern Ireland are employed by(a) United States firms, (b) Great Britain owned-firms, (c) European-owned firms, (d) far eastern-owned firms and (e) Irish Republic-owned firms; and, in each case, what percentage of the total work force this represents. [29040]
§ Mr. AncramEmployment figures for all externally owned companies operating in Northern Ireland are not readily available. The Central Statistics Office in London will be able to provide disaggregated figures on externally owned companies across all sectors of industry and commerce in Northern Ireland and my noble Friend the Minister with responsibility for the economy will write to the hon. Member shortly about this matter.
However, the following information on companies in the manufacturing and internationally tradeable services sectors has been drawn from the Industrial Development Board's client company data:
Number of employees in IDB client companies Number USA 9,077 Great Britain 18,301 Europe 3,715 Far East 2,757 Republic of Ireland 3,504 Total 37,354