To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the estimated total cost is to the Northern Ireland economy of terrorist activity in the last 30 years. (78970)

It is not possible to determine the direct total costs associated with terrorist activity in Northern Ireland but it is recognised that the impact is considerable in terms of business confidence and investment. Furthermore, the economy has significantly improved since the initial Provisional IRA ceasefire of 1994. Employment is currently close to its highest recorded level at 754,000 in 2006 (from 607,000 in 1994) and unemployment has fallen by 7 percentage points between 1994 and 2006 (from 11.9 per cent. in 1994 to 4.9 per cent. in 2006).