The current stalemate at Stormont will inflict reputational damage on Northern Ireland's economy which will dent its ability to attract both investment and talent.
That is the message from one of the region’s more influential business groups which pulled no punches in expressing its dissatisfaction at the failure to elect a speaker to the Stormont Assembly on Friday.
Paul Murnaghan, President of the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce and Industry, repeated calls from across the business world for Northern Ireland’s political representatives to “stop allowing division to hold back progress and form a stable, fully functioning Assembly and Executive without delay”.
