Northern Ireland political deadlock 'looks foolish on world stage'
- Published
Hal Wilson said political instability at Stormont did not help with the perception of Northern Ireland as a "credible place from which to do business"
Northern Ireland's inability to resolve its political problems makes it look "foolish" on the world stage, a leading venture capitalist has said.
Hal Wilson from Pentech Ventures was speaking on the BBC's Inside Business programme.
He said that while day-to-day business continues normally, the outside world views Northern Ireland with perplexity.
His comments come days after warnings by both the DUP and Sinn Féin over the current welfare crisis at Stormont.
'Two heads'
Mr Wilson was asked about the effect that political instability is having on business in Northern Ireland.
"There is the backdrop of, I think, us looking foolish internationally, of not being able to deal with issues which every other Western economy is able to deal with - the issues of cost-cutting and reshaping their economies - and we seem to exclude ourselves from it," he said.
"Pentech is an Edinburgh-based organisation and my colleagues there sometimes look at me as if I've got two heads, as to, why is this going on the way it is?
"So it doesn't help with the perception of us being a credible place from which to do business."
'Collapse'
However, he added: "On a day-to-day basis, I think business just goes on and the business community, as I've always experienced, just gets on with things no matter what's going on in the backdrop."
Hal Wilson was a guest on the BBC's Inside Business programme, hosted by Wendy Austin
Twelve days ago, First Minister Peter Robinson said the Northern Ireland Assembly could collapse if there was no agreement on welfare reform legislation, a crucial part of last December's Stormont House Agreement.
Days later however, Sinn Féin the SDLP and the Green Party's only MLA later blocked the Welfare Reform Bill from going through the assembly, by signing a petition of concern that effectively vetoes any measure that does not secure cross-community support.
On Saturday, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness described the political situation as "very grave" as his party held a meeting in Dublin to discuss the crisis.
Hal Wilson's interview will be broadcast on Inside Business on BBC Radio Ulster at 13:30 BST on Sunday 31 May.