SDLP MLA Richie McPhillips has told the Assembly that he believes Fermanagh has “greatly suffered over the years” when it has come to investment, or lack of it.
It is almost a year since the then Finance Minister Arlene Foster joined call centre firm Teleperformance to announce its intention to create 800 new jobs in Enniskillen. Last week Mr. McPhillips asked Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness for an update. “Some 12 months ago next month, 800 Teleperformance jobs were announced for Enniskillen; to date, I have no knowledge of any job creation in that respect. Will the Minister give us an update on the position with those 800 Teleperformance jobs?” he asked. In response, Mr. McGuinness said: “We are not the employers, so we are not responsible for delivering when a company makes a public declaration of investing in an area and outlines how many people it intends to employ. Obviously, there has been some delay, but there has been no suggestion that I have heard of any reneging on the commitment. I work on the basis that, until such times as people indicate that they are no longer prepared to go along with it, it will go ahead.”