McLaughlin calls for rigorous controls on employment grants

THE SDLP’s Economy spokesperson Sinéad McLaughlin has called on the Minister for the Economy to ensure that her department has rigorous controls to claw back employment grant given to companies that subsequently move jobs away.

She was speaking after receiving an answer from Minister Diane Dodds failed to provide assurance that it would recover grant from a company that is moving jobs from the North of Ireland to the United States.

Said the Foyle MLA: “It is essential that if we are providing grant support to locate jobs in Northern Ireland that we can recover that money if employers subsequently move those jobs away.

“It is disappointing that I did not receive that assurance from the economy minister after Global Payments Inc decided to move 109 jobs out of Northern Ireland.

“The future of the North must involve winning jobs through the skills, qualifications and innovative qualities of our workforce.

“But where grant assistance is involved, we need to recover money paid but jobs lost.

“I am very pleased to hear that Global Payments is to continue employing more than 100 staff in Derry and Belfast.

“I hope that the company will remain a committed employer here.”

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