BELFAST BRIEFING:THE BIG promise of a potentially brighter economic future for the North under the current devolved government is rapidly being washed away like the summer rain. Gone are the sunny days of political harmony at Stormont when Northern Ireland's politicians welcomed prospective Americans to the Belfast investment conference last May.

At that time there was more than a hint of optimism in the air about the economic outlook for the North. Then First Minister the Rev Ian Paisley and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness jointly welcomed the US delegation to the North. They wined and dined the potential investors at Stormont and Hillsborough Castle and very successfully painted a picture of a new Northern Ireland; one that just wanted a chance to realise its economic potential.

Martin McGuinness told the visitors that “the old days are gone, the old days will never return” in the North.

The joint message from two former bitter adversaries was a powerful one. It was intended to convince corporate America that Northern Ireland is now a safe place in which to invest its money.

The message appeared to hit home – delegates saw the very best the North had to offer against the backdrop of unexpectedly warm spring sunshine. There were signs that after decades of being a no-go zone for many US companies, Northern Ireland was finally coming in from the cold. Hopes were high in the North that the conference would deliver much needed new American investment and these hopes remain somewhat intact.

Government economic agencies in the North maintain they are still working on leads from the conference and are confident that in the long term these will pay off. But there is also the undeniable reality that global economic goalposts have shifted dramatically since the conference took place and the political climate at home has also deteriorated.

The inexperienced Northern Ireland Executive now has to deal with the impact of the global economic slowdown and what appears to be a fresh political crisis emerging.

Any one of these factors would be enough to cause a major problem for the North’s increasingly vulnerable economy. But together they represent a disaster.

Sinn Féin and the DUP are currently engaged in discussions about the devolvement of justice and policing powers in Northern Ireland. It is an important issue for the North and one that has to be resolved but it is also threatening to overshadow immediate economic problems.

The most pressing of which is how to stem the crisis in the Northern Ireland construction sector which employs more than 40,000 people. A new industry body is warning that thousands of these jobs are under serious threat as construction sites close on a weekly basis across the North.

The Construction and Property Group, which represents major players in the sector and also smaller firms, says the Northern Ireland Executive has a fundamental role to play in safeguarding the sector’s future. It has held meetings with the Executive and Brendan Cunnane, the secretary of the group, said he has no doubt that the North’s politicians are aware of just how serious an issue the slowdown in the construction sector is.

“The construction sector accounts for 10 per cent of the North’s economy so politicians are keen to listen and we have got good cross party support. But what we need now is for the Executive to work with us and to use its influence with local banks to find a way forward.”

Cunnane says private housing development in the North is virtually at a standstill. “There are sites closing across Northern Ireland because banks are refusing to provide development funding. There is no other source of finance for construction firms and builders. The construction sector in Northern Ireland is totally governed by the banks and the banks at the moment have no strategy to help the sector and are effectively shutting sites because of this,” he says.

If it continues, he says more firms are going to be forced to make further redundancies.

The big question now for the Northern Ireland economy is where do the Executive’s priorities lie and do they have the political will to make a difference?