Diane Dodds says north faces 'long, hard road to recovery'

Economy minister Diane Dodds has warned the north faces a "long, hard road to recovery" as it battles the "economic shock" of the coronavirus lockdown.

The DUP minister said every month of lockdown has been like a recession and said businesses must slowly open "in a safe...manner".

"As frustrating as it is for many, progress will be gradual and in stages," she said.

READ MORE: Hospitality sector 'set for job losses on massive scale'

Speaking at today's executive briefing, she acknowledged frustration from hoteliers that they have been allowed to take bookings but have not been given a date for when they can re-open.

Suggesting the Executive could announce a reopening date for hotels next week, she said she had raised concerns that hotels in the north are at a disadvantage compared with their counterparts in the Republic.

"Many of our hotels feel they have been disadvantaged by not having an indicative timetable," she said.

"I will be bringing further papers to the Executive at the start of the week."

She said a new tourism strategy is urgently needed and added that the hospitality industry may have to focus on customers nearer to home.

Ms Dodds said US tour operators have told her that they will not begin bringing tourists back to the north until next year so hotels will "rely on the domestic market".

She said if the R rate - a key indicator of the spread of Covid-19, is controlled, more shops will be allowed to open over the next few weeks.

"As frustrating as it is for many, progress will be gradual and in stages," she said.

"As we move towards further relaxations, key executive messaging will focus on two themes: stay safe, save lives and work safe and save lives."

Ms Dodds said the furlough scheme had been "essential".

Asked about changes to the scheme, she said it would be "incredibly difficult" for some employers to contribute towards furloughed staff's wages, particularly those in hospitality.

Ms Dodds said some businesses had expressed frustration at a lack of "flexibility" with the scheme, with some employers keen to bring back furloughed staff on a part-time basis.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak later announced that businesses will have to pay 20% of furloughed staff's wages by October.

Invest NI chief executive Kevin Holland told the briefing that the pandemic had created "significant economic challenge both locally and around the world".

"Some businesses will emerge relatively unchanged, some will be a lot stronger, others will have a short-term downturn and unfortunately some may not recover to the same extent they were at the start," he said.

"I think Northern Ireland is small enough, nimble enough, to move faster to competitive recovery than many other places around the world.

"We should seek out opportunities from this time of change."

He added: "I can assure you that Northern Ireland resilience has not gone unnoticed globally and it certainly further increases our attractiveness as an investment location."

Mr Holland said some companies had told Invest NI they intend to bring back some furloughed workers within weeks.

And he said it was reassuring that some manufacturing businesses were reopening.