Write a comment120 guests attended a Newry Chamber of Commerce Business Lunch with guest speaker Arlene Foster, Minister of the Department of Enterprise,Trade and Investment on Wednesday 21st January in the Canal Court Hotel.
The theme of the event was ‘Northern Ireland’s Economic Forecast 2009 - The Challenges / The Opportunities’.
The audience, which was comprised of local business leaders, MLA’s, Senior Government Officials, local Councillors and visiting Chamber Presidents were delivered a comprehensive overview by Minister Foster on the Northern Ireland Assembly’s strategy for tackling the effects of the global credit crunch and worldwide recession.
Speaking after the event Vice President of Newry Chamber of Commerce & Trade, Dr Conor Patterson stated, ‘in these challenging times for local businesses, Newry Chamber welcomed the opportunity to speak to the Minister about the issues affecting business activity in the Newry area; such as access to credit’. Dr Patterson further commented, ‘we also stressed the importance of Government working closely with stakeholders in Newry and diligently deploying public funds to develop partnerships with our entrepreneurs to allow them to maximise the business opportunities which they continue to identify and seek to exploit’.
Dr Patterson concluded, ‘It was important for the Minister to hear, first hand about the difficulties that local businesses are facing on a daily basis and also how there are opportunities within the Greater Newry Area, which if exploited could benefit the entire Northern Ireland economy. It is through partnership between local economic development bodies and central Government that these problems can be overcome’.
This event was generously sponsored by firmus energy. Mr Mark Prentice, General Manager, stated, ‘This event was supported by natural gas company firmus energy. Mark Prentice, general manager, stated, “We were delighted to be able to sponsor this Luncheon. I know businesses across the board are all finding these times difficult and I think it is helpful to hear the overall governmental strategy to address the problem.
“Certainly there is a lot businesses themselves can do. Making major and even minor changes in the day-to-day operations can make a big difference. For example, natural gas is a cost-efficient fuel and firmus energy already supplies a lot of businesses in the Newry area. Converting to natural gas, which is also an environmentally friendly option, can help make companies more competitive in their markets – an attractive prospect in these tough times.”
