The North's Minister of Trade, Enterprise and Investment, Sir Reg Empey, has appointed business consultants Kurt Salmon Associates to draw up an action plan aimed at rescuing Northern Ireland textile and clothing industries.

Sir Reg said urgent measures to reverse the decline in business were needed and that Kurt Salmon Associates together with the Industrial Development Board would plan how the textile industry could play a significant role in the economy outlined in the Department's economic blueprint Strategy 2010.

The minister also announced a study into private sector funding sources for small to medium-sized local companies to be carried out by the Ulster Society of Chartered Accountants.