Londonderry Chamber of Commerce President Redmond McFadden
Following a meeting between business and civic representatives with the five political parties on Thursday evening, Redmond McFadden, President of the Londonderry Chamber of Commerce said:
“The Londonderry Chamber as well as other representatives of business, education, health, trade unions and civic organisations, held a meeting with the five main political parties at Stormont last night.
“At that meeting we pressed the urgent need for the parties to agree the draft deal which was published by the British and Irish Governments. Three years without Ministers making local decisions has had an enormous impact on our economy and wider society. A lack of effective and meaningful representation here is curtailing investment in our region, stifling job creation and driving our young people away.
“Society can only prosper when there is political and economic stability. At this crucial time, we want to demonstrate our firm support for the deal and were clear to party representatives that we must get the Executive up and running again.
“We know there is still some heavy lifting to be done but we are here to support the parties and the two Governments and we would strongly encourage people to support politicians in their efforts to get a deal done before another deadline passes.
“Working together, political, business and civic leaders can help ensure that we move forward as a society and leave no one behind.”