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[edit] Economy

The economy of Derry was based significantly on the textile industry until relatively recently. For many years women were the sole wage earners working in the shirt factories while the men predominantly in comparison had high levels of unemployment [1]. This led to significant male emmigration [2]. In more recent times the textile industry jobs have increasingly moved to the far east, leaving Derry to bear an increased jobless total. The history of shirt making in Derry dates back as far as 1831 and is said to have been started by William Scott and his family who first exported shirts to Glasgow. Within 50 years, shirt making in the city was the most prolific in the UK with garments being exported all over the world. In fact it was known so well that the industry even received a mention in Das Kapital by Karl Marx when discussing the factory system:

The shirt factory of Messrs. Tille at Londonderry, which employs 1000 operatives in the factory itself, and 9000 people spread up and down the country and working in their own houses. see Part IV, Chapter XV (first published in 1867)

A long term foreign employer in the area is the Du Pont, who have been based at Maydown since 1958, this was it's first ever European production facility. Originally Neoprene was manufatured at Maydown and susequently followed by Hypalon. More recently Lycra and Kevlar® production units were active [3]. Thanks to a healthy world-wide demand for Kevlar which is made at the plant, the faclity recently undertook a £40 million upgrade to expand it's global Kevlar production. Du pont have stated that contributing factors to their continued committment to Maydown are: "low labor costs, excellent communications, and tariff-free, easy access to the U.K. mainland and European continent."

In the last 15 years there has been a drive to increase inward investment in the town, more recently concentrating on digital industries. Currently the three largest private-sector employers are American firms [4].

Even though Derry provides cheap labour by standards in the West, critics have noted that the grants offered by the Northern Ireland Industrial Development Board have helped land jobs for the area that will only last as long as the funding lasts. This was reflected by 1990 questions to The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (Mr. Richard Needham) Column 372 & 373. It was noted that it cost £30,000 to create one job in an American firm in the north of Ireland.

Successes have included call centres and a large investment by Seagate who have operated a factory in the Springtown Industrial Estate in Derry since 1993, they currently sponsor the city film festival, but more significantly they employ over 1000 people in the Springtown premises which produces more than half of Seagate's total requirement for hard drive read-write heads.

A success for the IDB (for Northern Ireland) was Stream International, who opened an outsourced technology call centre operation in the IDB's Ulster Science & Technology Park in Derry in January 1995, it is now the third largest employer in Derry [5].

A recent but controversial new employer in the area is Raytheon, Raytheon Systems Limited, was established in 1999, in the Ulster Science & Technology Park, Buncrana Road [6]. Although local people welcomed the jobs boost many in the area object to the jobs being provided by a firm involved heavily in the arms trade [7].

The most significant employers in the region are:

Foreign:

• DuPont (US)
• Stream International (US)
• Seagate Technology (US)
• Perfecseal, Bemis (US)
• NTL (US)
• Arntz Belting (Germany)
• Raytheon (US)
• Northbrook Technologies (US)
• Invision Software (Germany)

Local:

• Desmonds - Northern Ireland’s largest privately owned company. (International garment manufacturing and sourcing)
• E&I Engineering
• St. Brendan’s Irish Cream Liqueur Ltd
• Singularity (software products and services)

Source (pdf)

Londonderry Port at Lisahally is the United Kingdom’s most westerly port and has capacity for 30,000 ton vessels. In spite of Derry being the second city of Northern Ireland road and rail links to other cities are below par for it's standing. Many business leaders claim that government investment in the city and infrastructure has been badly lacking.

Some have stated that this is due to it's outlaying border location whilst others have cited a sectarian bias against the west of the province due to it's high proportion of Catholics [8] [9]. In any event, there is no motorway link with Belfast or Dublin. Additionally the rail link to Belfast has been downgraded over the years so that presently it is not a viable alternative to the roads for industry to rely on. Mr Garvan O'Doherty, local business man and board member of the Londonderry Port and Harbour Commision, stated in the Irish Times, October 2005:

"It is vital that road, rail and air links are all maximised with particular emphasis on the two principal road axes - connections to Belfast and Dublin."

Much has been made of the City of Derry airport. However it should be noted that the citizens of Derry themselves directly subsidise it's running from local council tax coffers.

Critics of investment decisions affecting Derry often point to the decision to build a new university building in nearby Coleraine rather than developing the university of Ulster campus that already existed in Derry - Magee. Another major goverment decision affecting Derry was the decision to create the new city of Craigavon outside Belfast, which again was detrimental to the development of Derry. Even in October 2005, there is perceived bias against Derry with a major civil service job contract going to Belfast rather than the comparitvely impoverished North West of the province. Mark Durkan, the SDLP leader and MP for Foyle was quoted in the Belfast Telegraph as saying:

"The fact is there has been consistent under-investment in the North West and a reluctance on the part of the Civil Service to see or support anything west of the Bann, except when it comes to rate increases, then they treat us equally." [10]

Many observers note that politics will need to play a part in the future development of the economy of Derry. Whether it is a future devolved Nortern Ireland government or the British or Irish or European parliaments that will provide the impetus it is clear that cross border digital and physical infrastructure improvements are needed. In July 2005, the Irish Minister for Finance, Brian Cowan called for a joint task force to drive economic growth in the cross border region. This would have implications for Derry, Tyrone and Donegal across the border.

Given the afforability of housing in the city, the student population has boomed in recent years bringing a revival in the fortunes of Magee, the oldest campus within the University of Ulster established in 1865 as Magee College.

Tourism is set to be central to the future economic success of Derry. There are many museums and sites of interest in and around the region. Future projects include the Walled City Signature Project, which intends to ensure that the city's walls become a world class tourist experience [11].

Other existing attractions are:

• Amelia Earhart Centre And Wildlife Sanctuary
• Apprentice Boys Memorial Hall
• Bogside Murals
• Grianan of Ailech (Royal seat of the Ui Neill family for 700 years [12])
• Harbour Museum
• Museum of Free Derry Online
• Springhill House And Costume Collection
• St. Columb's Cathedral and Chapter House Museum
• Tower Museum
• Workhouse Museum

The now world famous Halloween celebrations in Derry also prove a huge tourism boost for the city, the carnival is promoted as being the first and longest running Halloween carnival in the whole of Ireland [13], [14]. It actually is the largest street party in Ireland [15].

[edit] Further Reading

A Socio-Economic Profile of the Derry City Council Area (pdf)