ABOUT 80,000 jobs created in Northern Ireland over the past 25 years have gone to Catholics, according to Mr Graham Gudgin, chairman of the Northern Ireland Economic Research Centre. Speaking yesterday on Radio Ulster's Seven Days, Mr Gudgin claimed that since 1990 the number of Catholics obtaining jobs had increased at the expense of the Protestant community.
"We are moving into a position of injustice, whereby the number of Catholics has accelerated greatly since 1990, whereas the number of Protestants has declined. Over the last 25 years, all of the additional jobs created have gone to the Catholic community," he said.
But the head of the Fair Employment Commission, Mr Bob Cooper, dismissed Mr Gudgin's claims as rubbish. He said lots of new jobs had gone to Protestants and Mr Gudgin's claims were based on a net figure.
The Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, said the claim's were "ill considered and ill judged". "Catholics remain over twice as likely to be unemployed as Protestants," he said.