One of the first tasks facing the new administration in the North was to draw up a detailed "economic agenda", the SDLP leader, Mr John Hume, said yesterday, writes Theresa Judge.
Members of the new government in the North should follow the example of their counterparts in Wales who have already drawn up a "New Economic Agenda for Wales", Mr Hume said in his address to the SIPTU Northern Ireland region conference in Newry.
The SDLP leader said a social partnership, involving trade unions and employers, would be very important in the North as it was a reality in all the successful economies of Europe.