Northern Ireland business leaders have expressed concern about continued political uncertainty after Thursday’s local elections and called for a fully functioning government in the region.
Northern Ireland has not had a functioning local government since February, when the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the largest party in the regional parliament at the time, withdrew from power-sharing executives.
The Democratic Unionist move was intended as part of a protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol in the UK-EU agreement on post-Brexit trade, with members creating barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. It states that it was made.
In the British local elections on May 5, the Irish Nationalist party Sinfein, associated with the Irish Republican Army (IRA), became the first and largest party in the Northern Ireland Assembly and won a historic victory. I did.
However, under a power-sharing agreement between unionists and nationalists, a new government cannot be formed, as the DUP states that the UK government will not appoint a minister until it acts on the issue of the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Local corporate groups have expressed concern about the prospects for long-term post-election negotiations and uncertainty about the return of Staumont’s administration.
Local branch of Confederation of British Industry (CBI) called for a swift reconstruction of the Northern Ireland Executive.
Angela McGowan, Director of CBI Northern Ireland, said: Difficult to manage living expenses and rising costs for doing business. “
“If newly formed executives collaborate with businesses in the spirit of collaboration, there is a real opportunity to move the economy forward,” she added. measures. “
“The following executives are responsible for doing business in a transparent way,” said the Northern Ireland branch of the Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises (FSB NI).
Roger Pollen, Chief Executive Officer of FSBNI, said:
PA Media contributed to this report.
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