Jobs created and supported

A total of 4,977 jobs were promoted by Invest NI assisted clients which were externally-owned since 2005/6.

Investment Minister Arlene Foster outlined the level of job promotion through Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in response to a query at the Stormont Assembly by the SDLP leader Margaret Ritchie.

In Foyle 2,146 new jobs - the number expected to be created by projects - were promoted by FDI between 2005/6 and 2009/10. During the same period 1,325 jobs were made safe, i.e. they would have been lost if the project was not supported.

In neighbouring East Londonderry - which suffered the loss of major employers Seagate and Huco over the period - the number of safeguarded jobs outnumbered the number of new jobs by a ratio of over 2:1; 817 versus 380.

Conversely, there were no safe jobs in West Tyrone - covering Strabane and Castlederg - whilst there were 309 new jobs through FDI.

The Investment Minister outlined the details at the Stormont Assembly reiterating her Department’s stance that Invest NI does not intervene in geographical areas.

She stated: “Invest NI is the agency through which the Department of Enterprise Trade & Investment (DETI) provides funding to grow the private sector in Northern Ireland.

“Invest NI will work with any manufacturing and tradable services business in Northern Ireland which has the potential and ambition to export, to improve its productivity and to become more internationally competitive.

“Invest NI does not assist projects which only serve the local marketplace e.g. those involved in retail and distribution activities.

“We, therefore, do not have information relating to investment made by externally-owned businesses in these sectors.

“This response is based on those inward-investment projects which have been assisted by Invest NI.

“Invest NI’s focus is to increase business productivity, the means by which wealth can be created for the benefit of the whole community.

“It does this by supporting projects that aim to create jobs, an aspect of the agency’s work that is becoming increasingly important given the need to increase employment levels following the impact of the downturn.

“Although not directly related to job creation, Invest NI’s innovation and capability development activities are designed to increase business competitiveness which generates growth, leading eventually to improved productivity and increased employment opportunities.”

She said Invest NI offered financial support to assist employment-related projects by externally-owned companies that planned to create nearly 15,300 new jobs and safeguard over 6,200 existing jobs across NI.

“It should be noted that jobs promoted by Invest NI supported projects may take a number of years to create.

“Indeed, larger projects may take up to five years to fully mature,” she stated.