Murders Fail To Halt $30m US Investment

There's an early St Patrick's Day celebration stateside as news of a $30m US-backed investment in Northern Ireland is revealed.

The cash is to be made available for potential investment by the New York state retirement fund.

The state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who handles the pension funds of public workers from New York, made the announcement on Monday, saying that he was impressed by NI's "highly skilled workforce".

Speaking in the Big Apple, Stormont Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness (pictured) said it was a "massive vote of confidence" in the peace process.

The Sinn Féin politician is in America with First Minister Peter Robinson, who is today visiting Chicago.

The DUP Leader is holding separate talks with US firms that employ people in Northern Ireland.

The two leading NI Executive politicians will then join US representatives and the Taoiseach Brian Cowen in Washington DC for a series of St Patrick's Day events hosted by President Barack Obama and Vice-President Joe Biden.

Mr McGuinness said that despite recent dissident murders people in the US understood there was opposition to groups derailing the peace process.

Speaking at the announcement which was made in the Comptroller's Offices in New York, Mr McGuinness added more details on the funding.

He said: "The Emerging Europe Fund will provide a total of $100million of which $30million has been earmarked for projects in the North of Ireland.

"I am delighted to welcome the establishment of this fund, which is a tremendous endorsement of the peace process, by Comptroller Di Napoli.

"The fact that the fund is to earmark over a third of its total assets towards projects in the North is particularly pleasing and I would hope that this will signal merely the start of even bigger and better things to come.

"This investment represents the ordinary people of New York State making an investment in the ordinary people of the North of Ireland and is designed to tackle deprivation and generate wealth for investors and communities alike.

"I was pleased last year during the Investment Conference, to host Comptroller Di Napoli on a visit to Derry.

"The Comptroller has targeted these funds to areas of long term disadvantage. This is recognition that these are areas of opportunity. It is also recognition that everyone must have a stake in the future and a role in developing peace," he said.

"Coming as it does in the midst of such challenging economic times, it will be welcome news indeed for private companies who are seeking investment to provide growth potential," the Executive Minister said.

"As myself and the First Minister near the end of our visit to the United States, it is especially welcome that we have such a concrete positive announcement but I am hopeful, and indeed confident, that it will not be the only positive news to emerge as the result of our visit here."

See: Cowen In Business At NY

(BMcC/JM)