Other News In Brief

Merchant Warehouse Creates 70 New Posts

Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster has announced that Merchant Warehouse is to set up a Technology Development and Customer Support Centre in Belfast creating 70 quality jobs.

The Boston-based company provides payment technologies and merchant services to around 80,000 merchant customers. Having experienced significant growth in recent years, the Belfast operation will support further growth by adding in-house engineering and development resources. Invest Northern Ireland has offered £840,000 of assistance towards the job creation.

Announcing the investment Arlene Foster said: "Invest NI has worked hard to secure this high quality, knowledge based investment for Northern Ireland, in the face of competition from other locations.

"In this it was aided by very positive reports from other US investors who have set up here, who promoted the availability of highly qualified staff, and the strong support from local universities and government agencies, as well as cultural and logistical alignment."

Minister Urged To Review Crisi Management Plans

Ulster Unionist Agriculture Spokesperson Jo-Anne Dobson MLA has urged the Agriculture Minister to update her Department's contingency plans for handling severe weather conditions.

Mrs Dobson was making her comments following a meeting organised by her colleague Robin Swann MLA between North Antrim farmers and members of the Agriculture Committee at Stormont. She said: “Farmers in the hardest hit areas are still enduring real hardship because of the damage caused to their livelihoods as a result of the severe weather conditions.

"I have written directly to Minister O'Neill urging her to conduct a review of all contingency arrangements to make sure that we can reduce the damage caused to our farmers and the industry in the future.

"As yet, DARD has not published the arrangements for the 'limited hardship payments' for farmers affected in the recent crisis. In future this help must be delivered much faster if it is to achieve the maximum benefit for farmers. Hardship payments are of little use to farmers if the money stays in DARD’s bank account for weeks on end.

"To help resolve this, The Minister should set up a contingency fund which would enable financial help to be readily available, and therefore quickly distributed to farmers, in the event of a crisis. A fund to which farmers could 'bid' if they feel that they have suffered as a result of conditions beyond their control.

"I have suggested to the Minister that she raise this issue with her Executive Colleagues in a bid to help and indeed reassure farmers that in the future help will be at hand. Agriculture after all is our single biggest industry – helping our farmers get back onto their feet as quickly as possible following a crisis benefits the entire Northern Ireland economy."

We Won't Attract Investment Without A Shared Society - Lyttle

Alliance OFMDFM spokesperson Chris Lyttle MLA has said we won't attract major investment without a shared society. He was responding to comments made by the DUP's Sammy Wilson during an interview on Sunday, who appeared to down play the prospect of an Executive Shared Future strategy and also suggested that by creating a strong economy we would build a shared Northern Ireland.Chris Lyttle MLA said: "I think Sammy has put the cart before the horse on this one. We will not be able to attract major investment until we deliver a shared society.

"I am concerned by the mixed messages the DUP are sending out on a shared future. It was only a few days ago that Peter Robinson claimed in the Assembly that he had a Shared Future Strategy and Action Plan that could be published immediately, yet Sammy is now questioning whether or not this is even necessary.

"The delivery of a shared future is one of the major challenges facing the Executive. The First and deputy First Minister must start a new process by politicians and members of civic society working together to produce a strategy that will help deliver a shared and more prosperous future for everyone."

(CD)