To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will publish a table to show for each of the last six years and the current year the number of jobs created and the number of firms setting up in Northern Ireland, indicating how many in each year were the result of investment from outside Northern Ireland.

The figures for jobs promoted by the industrial development agencies for the last six financial years are as follows:

	Total jobs promoted	Jobs promoted through inward investment
Industrial Development Board
1985–86	2,910	224
1986–87	4,187	415
1987–88	5,300	867
1988–89	5,653	1,856
1989–90	5,131	1,977
1990–91	4,402	1,294
Local Enterprise Development Unit
1985–86	3,888	n.a.
1986–87	4,244	n.a.
1987–88	4,047	n.a.
1988–89	4,581	n.a.
1989–90	5,510	n.a.
1990–91	6,004	n.a.

The number of firms setting up in Northern Ireland as indicated by VAT registrations over the past six calendar years are as follows:

	Number
1985	3,700
1986	3,300
1987	3,400
1988	3,600
1989	3,900
1990	3,600
1991	n.a.

n.a.= Not available.The place of origin of a firm and the initial number of jobs created cannot be determined from VAT returns.