Derry Chamber of Commerce president Jennifer McKeever
DERRY Chamber of Commerce President, Jennifer McKeever, has described yesterday’s announcement that there is no prospect of a Stormont deal in the current rounds of talks as “disappointing and frustrating”.
The DUP pulled the plug on the talks claiming that Sinn Fein were trying to ‘hold it to ransom’ over a Gaelic act.
Sinn Fein hit back saying that the DUP had reneged on an accommodation the party had reached with Arlene Foster’s negotiating team.
It means the North of Ireland may son return to direct rule with Westminster having to set this year’s rates and budget to keep public services going.
Ms McKeever said: “Yesterday’s announcement by DUP leader Arlene Foster that there is ‘no current prospect’ of a deal to restore power sharing is disappointing and frustrating for our business community.
“The collapse of the latest round of talks will come as another body blow for businesses in the North West which are facing the greatest economic challenge of our generation.
“Thirteen months is too long to be without devolved government and the lack of leadership from Stormont in the Brexit negotiations has been particularly frustrating for the business community.
“The North West has had no voice in this process so far because of a lack of political leadership to restore devolved power at Stormont. It is vital that we have a fully functioning devolved government as soon as possible in order to achieve the best possible Brexit deal for Northern Ireland and the border areas.
“This process has already taken too long. Our political leaders must not walk away from this, they must re-focus and re-double their efforts to restore the Northern Ireland Executive as a matter of urgency.”
