THERE has been a warm welcome for 65 new jobs for seven North West companies with the help of a £3M Invest NI package.
However politicians from all sides agree Derry needs many hundreds more positions to tackle poverty in the city and the county.
MLA Mark H Durkan said was encouraged by the efforts of InvestNI to help fund the development of Derry based businesses whilst Sinn Féin’s Gearoid O hEára praised local entrepreneurs for crewing the positions
“These new jobs ranging across a number of sectors from engineering to software development, sales and marketing, represent new opportunities for my constituency and while I agree we need more of it, we must recognise the value this investment will have for our local economy,” said Durkan.
“With salaries from 15,000-£30,000 cited by these locally based businesses, I see this announcement as a building block for Derry to grow on. We need to prove to the business community that here is the place to invest in and our hard working community can deliver results just as well as any other region.
“I am hopeful that this small success story will pave the way for future investment in the North West and with the newly recognised political commitment from the Executive that Derry reaps the benefit of future Government supported programmes.”
Said O’hEára: “This is welcome news. The fact that almost all of the firms involved in this announcement are well-established local companies demonstrates the entrepreneurial skills and ambitions of the local business community.
“The fact these jobs are being created across such a diverse range of industries also identifies the wealth and variety of skills available in the local workforce.
“I congratulate all seven companies on their ambition and confidence in their local community shown by this investment.
“Sinn Féin believes if we are to transform the economic environment in the north west we must become a more resilient and self-reliant economy, while simultaneously creating the environment to attract inward investment.
“Today’s announcement shows that, that spirit is alive and well within the local business community.”
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