§ Mr. Peter Robinsonasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many local and United Kingdom firms have failed in Northern Ireland during 1980; and how much public investment has been lost thereby.
§ Mr. Adam ButlerOn the basis of the information available it is estimated that 40 locally based manufacturing companies and 10 from Great Britain closed all their operations in Northern Ireland during 1980. It is not possible, except at disproportionate cost, to calculate the total amount of Government assistance paid to these companies. It would, however, be wrong to say that such assistance has been lost since the companies involved have provided valuable job opportunities going back over many years.