Business community's participation essential to political process: Parsley

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Tue 17th May 2005

Alliance Party Councillor Ian James Parsley has called on the business community to become more closely involved in the political process, to secure a better deal for enterprises in Northern Ireland.

Speaking after a meeting with the Federation of Small Businesses policy team, Cllr Parsley said: "I entered politics myself precisely because I recognized, as a small business owner in Northern Ireland, that we were not being given a level playing field.

"The best-educated school leavers in Northern Ireland find their way, more often than not, either into the public sector or out of Northern Ireland altogether. This is because the climate in which businesses operate here is set up to support economic dependency rather than self-sufficency. In the long run, that is bad for everyone in Northern Ireland.

"However, I would ask the business community to consider that this situation cannot improve without active participation in the political process. It is not enough to cast envious glances across the border to the Republic and wonder why "they" cannot promote better conditions for doing business here. The business community has the potential to affect the political process for the better, and it needs to make its voice heard."

ENDS