Comment from the Editor

"Given that 2006 could be down as something of an annus horribilis for Invest Northern Ireland, there is no need for us to add to their woes on this page (….again!).

The past few weeks have been INI’s Chief Executive looking distinctly uncomfortable in front of the Public Accounts Committee at the House of Commons and the Belfast Telegraph running a series of well-researched exposes on the LEDU/Emerging Business Trust affair and others.

The obvious distress that Invest NI is in just at the moment didn’t stop the Institute of Directors from landing a well-aimed punch or two at that organisation’s February annual dinner.

IOD Chairman Dr. Michael Maguire, never one to shy away from speaking out on issues, was right to take aim at INI….and not for the first time.

Maguire’s line was a relatively tactful one. He questioned the agency’s delivery set against what it said it was going to do and achieve at the time of its formation from the old IDB and LEDU. As he pointed out, there is a sizeable gap between the two.

As Maguire pointed out, the gap could be down to some over enthusiastic spin doctoring….but that seems unlikely given the care usually taken by government PR machines.

It’s more likely to be down to plain old poor performance, and that was the message which most attendees at the IOD Dinner heard loud and clear.

Maguire didn’t go on to actually question INI’s very existence, or call for root and branch changes around Bedford Street. But he didn’t fall too far short of doing exactly that.

A word too about his calls for political progress in front of an attentive Peter Hain. They may just be another voice in the darkness, but if we don’t get some sort of progress soon, any progress to date could all be rendered a little pointless.



February’s postal strike had a horrendous effect on many businesses - particularly smaller ones - around the Belfast area.

The situation proved that the days of strike action haven’t completely gone, even though many of us thought that disputes like this had been consigned to the dustbin of history.

A couple of points need to be made. The strikers were seemingly unable to put across anything resembling a coherent case. We heard lots of vague ramblings about bullying and respect, but nothing like a case which could be considered on its merits.

Yet, these people were allowed to hold Northern Ireland business to ransom for a couple of weeks. And these are the same people so handsomely rewarded by Royal Mail last year when the company returned to profit.

They deserve little credence or respect.

But, while the strike itself was plainly wrong, the response of Royal Mail management must be called into question.

These situations are not easy to resolve, but there must have been some way of ending the dispute without harming so many Royal Mail customers. Because of the effective monopoly situation which still effectively exists, those customers had few alternatives open to them.

They should not have been allowed to suffer so comprehensively. Compensation must be swift. Royal Mail has a lot of ground to make up with its key customers here, and could start by working to ensure that this sort of wildcat action doesn’t happen again."

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