Chamber of Commerce President Ian Crowe today called on our city's economic development agencies to join forces and build the irrefutable case for locating public sector jobs in the city.

He said "We know that Derry is the prime location for any jobs in this reshuffle, however, we need to make sure that everyone else knows. Derry has so many advantages over a bursting at the seams Belfast. Our office accommodation is cheaper per square foot and housing stock is much less expensive than in Belfast with plans to build up to 10,000 new houses in the city. Derry has one of the youngest populations in the UK and the private sector is engaging across the educational spectrum to ensure we have a ready flow of skills in the pipeline. Not only is Derry a university city, but we have close access to two superb 3rd level colleges and home to a range of 2nd level educational institutes that rank among the best in Northern Ireland."

Northern Ireland PLC will only be as strong as its sub regions. A strong and vibrant Northern Ireland needs a strong and vibrant capital city but the province will weaken and wither if more attention is not paid to the network of regional cities and hubs that make up this province. Public servants must remember - Public Sector jobs have a single focus - to provide a service to all the citizens of Northern Ireland. In my view, very few of our Public Sector jobs need to be necessarily located in Belfast. I'd really like to hear the argument that highlights why Invest Northern Ireland MUST be located in Belfast, and couldn't be located just easily in the NW. Being in the NW would certainly bring the service closer to the area of most need. And why is the Northern Ireland Tourist Board necessarily based in Belfast, and not closer to the provinces only world heritage site attraction that brings most of Northern Ireland's tourist visitors."

There has been much talk about mobility of labour, the difficulties of moving staff from one location to another and long distances of travel included. In the private sector, mobility is a necessary fact of life, perhaps not permanently but certainly it is a factor. However, what is not acceptable is that only one segment of the workforce is forced down that road (no pun intended). Within the public sector, Derry workers have been serving the needs of the NI citizen by travelling to Belfast day and daily in their hundreds. Perhaps it's time to reverse the trend.

Derry is moving forward. It's no secret that together with Strabane, the region hasn't felt well particularly served by the Belfast mindset that pervades our public sector and more importantly our civil service - however it's time to put all behind us now. We need to make sure that the decision makers have the facts before them that make the NW an impossible location to ignore. People and Place have got to be key to any decision. We have the people - with 43% of our population over 30 yrs of age and the number of working age in the NW well over 280,000. As for property, with over 250,000 sq ft of speculative new commercial property hitting the streets between now and early 2009, we have a massive vote of confidence in the NW by our private sector investors. This coupled with the plans for the Ebrington site being well advanced make the suggestion that there is no commercial accommodation west of the Bann absolutely ludicrous. Our economic agencies need to make sure that the facts are presented in a cohesive fashion. They need to join up the dots and make sure the picture is presented clearly in full colour with absolutely no room for areas of grey. The Chamber President concluded, "This is a superb opportunity to lead business NW."