Bloomberg’s comments on division are a wake-up call to Executive

Alliance Enterprise Spokesperson Seán Neeson MLA said that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s speech is a wake-up call to the Executive to act to end segregation. Mayor Bloomberg said in his ‘people don’t want to live in a society defined by division’ and stated that a united community is necessary to attract investors. He spoke in the Great Hall at Parliament Buildings today as part of the US Investment Conference.

Opposition MLA Seán Neeson said: “Mayor Bloomberg hit the nail on the head. The Stormont Executive needs to end segregation in order to attract investors.

“The Executive must take heed of what Mayor Bloomberg said today. Segregation is the elephant in the room – it still exists and Ministers are doing next to nothing to tackle it.

“They need to make creating a shared future their number one priority if Northern Ireland is to hold any hope of attracting the high-value jobs our economy needs for it to grow.

“Sir Anthony O’Reilly also made some very important points regarding corporation tax. Northern Ireland needs a lower rate and it was the Alliance Party who brought this issue to the floor of the Assembly a few weeks ago. I fear that the Executive has given up this fight, but Alliance will not.”

ENDS