September 23, 2008

Larne Investment Welcomed

East Antrim MLA Alastair Ross has welcomed the substantial investment which will greatly benefit Larne. The American medical device manufacturer, CaridianBCT, specialises in blood collection and processing systems and will be injecting £16 million into their East Antrim plant.

Commenting from his Larne constituency Mr Ross said, ‘This is a great day for Larne to receive such a boost from a major company. This illustrates the confidence and commitment that outside investors have in bringing their business to not only Larne in this instance but Northern Ireland as a whole too.

The people of Larne have been rightfully recognised for their expertise and ability to make a success of this facility. I welcome the prospect of further job creation in the area and also the new skills which will be accumulated. The creation of a further 235 jobs adds to an already strong workforce at the Larne site.

This positive announcement from the DETI Minister Arlene Foster simply makes a mockery of the content of Gordon Brown’s speech to Assembly Members on Tuesday. It proves that he was wrong to marry the devolution of policing and justice powers with investment and prosperity in Northern Ireland. The people of Larne are testament to the fact that we will receive investment and we will continue to strive for prosperity based on the merit of our hard work and skills, not on the back of the last governmental department being devolved here.’