§ 15. Dr. Mawhinneyasked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will make an assessment of the effect on private sector investment of continuing political instability in the Province.
§ Mr. Adam ButlerMany people perceive Northern Ireland as a region of the United Kingdom suffering from political instability as well as from terrorist violence.
However exaggerated or misconceived such perception may be, I have no doubt at all that it seriously reduces the potential for new private sector investment, and is a major obstacle in the way of our industrial development effort.
It is, of course, difficult to give a precise assessment of this effect, because there are other factors involved; but I believe that there is a heavy responsibility on the shoulders of the people of the Province, and particularly of the locally-elected politicians, to work constructively and urgently to create a more settled political environment.