NORTHERN IRELAND:THE EURO zone crisis and the financial pressure on the US economy could have an impact on the North's public finances, Minister for Finance Sammy Wilson has warned.
The DUP minister issued his warning after an emergency meeting with industry, business and trade union representatives at Stormont yesterday to discuss the convulsions in the global economy.
Mr Wilson called for a special meeting with Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King to discuss special measures to permit bank support for troubled businesses in Northern Ireland. Mr Wilson told The Irish Times the Government had made the wrong decision in opting for the euro rather than maintaining a link with sterling.
Mr Wilson said it could not be fully determined what impact the international economic crisis will have on Northern Ireland. There was concern that, if the British government had to further assist in the “bailout” of troubled EU economies, it would ultimately impinge on the North’s public finances.
The Minister met senior representatives from groups including the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the Institute of Directors, the Construction Employers’ Federation, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) and Unison.
A number of ideas were discussed, he said, one of which was to request a meeting with Sir Mervyn King to discuss the special banking needs and problems facing regions such as Northern Ireland. There was also discussion about the Northern Executive being a “banker of last resort”.
There were low interest rates in euro countries – “chiefly designed to suit Germany” – at a time when higher rates could have “dampened down” the Irish property speculation. He suspected it was not now feasible for the Republic to opt out of the euro.
Nigel Smyth of the CBI said the meeting was useful. “We are in an extremely challenged environment but it is important too to demonstrate that it is not all bad news and that there area lot of positives in Northern Ireland.”
Peter Bunting of ICTU said the meeting helped illustrate the importance of a “collective approach” to resolving the economic problems.
