6 county corporation tax

[Stall the Bailer]

That may be true ( and indeed further afeild) but that highlights another point, that most of the job promotion is in belfast rather than regiona areas or places like Derry, so people have no choice but to commute to belfast (or move there) for work.

Is it not the same the world over?

This is something Stormount can fix, they have the power to do so.
You would think InvestNI would be working most in the areas of high unemployment.

[Maguire01]

Seen someone share this on facebook. I thought it was interesting

Belfastards, simply no other term for them.

In the six months between April and October Invest NI announced 5000 new jobs for Belfast but just 50 for Derry. These were jigh paid jobs not the low paid call centre type jobs given to Derry with one announcement paying on average £57,000. As Anita Robinson revealed on Radio Foyle in the past five years Derry has lost 2000 jobs while Belfast has gained 15000. To put that into perspective Derry only has about 35,000 jobs compared to over 200,000 in Belfast despite the fact that Derry is 40% the size of Belfast (measured by either council areas Derry 108,000 versus Belfast 267,000 or Greater Derry 237,000 v Greater Belfast 576,000; source Wikipedia).

Belfast gives itself 80% of Invest NI financing while Derry gets just 2.7%, organised by having 14 staff in Derry and 536 in Belfast.

We have been denied a University for 50 years now, while Belfast has managed to get both Universities located there. Now they're spending £300 million on a new campus in Belfast while saying there is no money for an £11 million building at Magee.

Aside from a promise of 500 jobs to Ballykelly which now looks doubtful there has been no decentralisation, neither the 5000 jobs mentioned in the Bain report nor the 20,000 jobs that would actually produce a fair redistribution of civil service jobs based on population levels. Apparently 1 in 12 in Belfast work for the civil service but in Derry what few jobs we have are being cut.

These 20000 extra civil servants in Belfast need housed in additional millions of square feet of office space which then serves as a subsidy via rates to Belfast City Council who then enjoy per capita council budget of £550 versus just £370 in Derry. These civil servants then use the Belfast airports so in effect subsidising them with business while the rate payers of Derry get to subsidise LDY's business losses.

Our railway is constantly being delayed on phrase II of the line upgrade and on the old station revamp. The A5 road to Dublin has been postponed until 2028 and A6 to Belfast is in limbo.

Our main stadium has been refused funds for renovation for the past 30 years while Stormont funded not 1, not 2, but 3 new stadia in Belfast for over £100 million with plans for a 4th stadium for athletics. Finally when we get funding for the Brandywell it is only £8 million and is not just for a stadium but for a host of projects in that area and will be funded by Derry City council not Stormont.

Our plastic tent/concert hall was refused £1 million to extend its lease for one more year while the Waterfront is getting a £29 million extension. Indeed is the rumour true that the concert hall could have been purchased for £6 million but was instead leased for a year for £4.6 million so that it would not form part of any legacy after City of Culture year.

The same fate befell the Turner Prize Gallery which had enjoyed 70,000 visitors in 2 months while millions have been spent on The Lyric Theatre (£11 million), The Opera House and The Ulster Museum all in Belfast. The Titanic Museum got £100 million of public funding on its own and when £20 million European funding application was turned down the Northern Ireland exchequer just picked that up as well.

Previously we had to fight to get gas extended to the West, they wanted our power station to close (and it was only the power station changing from coal to gas that saved both projects), they want to close down Magilligan jail and relocate the prisoners to a new prison near Belfast, they set a criteria of "within 45 miles of Belfast" for the new Police training college deliberately to exclude Derry even though the Irish government offered £50 million towards it's construction if it was in Derry, and they did eventually manage to steal Project Kelvin despite public assurances.

Then there's the questions over our regional cancer centre, lower allowances for housing benefit payments, tax breaks for commuting via public transport to Belfast but not Derry using the same Translink buses and trains, etc, etc, etc.

The discrimination against Derry and the West has been going on for years and regrettably the new Stormont and Good Friday Agreement has just repeated the age old pattern. https://www.change.org/p/the-northern-ireland-executive-that-the-stormont-executive-and-assembly-immediately-redresses-the-historical-infrastructural-deficit-in-derry-by-reinstating-the-a5-a6-upgrades-completing-the-passing-loop-on-the-derry-belfast-rail-line-and-passing-the?recruiter=20156180&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_responsive&utm_term=mob-xs-share_petition-custom_msg

The point in bold ignores the fact that people from North Down, Lisburn, South Antrim etc all travel into Belfast to work.

The  same way as people from Omagh, Letterkenny, Limavady, Inishowen etc travel into Derry for work. Your bit in bold is not relevant.

North Down, Lisburn, South Antrim etc. have populations many multiples of the areas you're talking about. For example, there are 20,000 people in Omagh, 70,000 in Lisburn, 20,000 in Letterkenny, 60,000 in Bangor... the point is that Belfast has a much bigger population catchment.

[Stall the Bailer]

Seen someone share this on facebook. I thought it was interesting

Belfastards, simply no other term for them.

In the six months between April and October Invest NI announced 5000 new jobs for Belfast but just 50 for Derry. These were jigh paid jobs not the low paid call centre type jobs given to Derry with one announcement paying on average £57,000. As Anita Robinson revealed on Radio Foyle in the past five years Derry has lost 2000 jobs while Belfast has gained 15000. To put that into perspective Derry only has about 35,000 jobs compared to over 200,000 in Belfast despite the fact that Derry is 40% the size of Belfast (measured by either council areas Derry 108,000 versus Belfast 267,000 or Greater Derry 237,000 v Greater Belfast 576,000; source Wikipedia).

Belfast gives itself 80% of Invest NI financing while Derry gets just 2.7%, organised by having 14 staff in Derry and 536 in Belfast.

We have been denied a University for 50 years now, while Belfast has managed to get both Universities located there. Now they're spending £300 million on a new campus in Belfast while saying there is no money for an £11 million building at Magee.

Aside from a promise of 500 jobs to Ballykelly which now looks doubtful there has been no decentralisation, neither the 5000 jobs mentioned in the Bain report nor the 20,000 jobs that would actually produce a fair redistribution of civil service jobs based on population levels. Apparently 1 in 12 in Belfast work for the civil service but in Derry what few jobs we have are being cut.

These 20000 extra civil servants in Belfast need housed in additional millions of square feet of office space which then serves as a subsidy via rates to Belfast City Council who then enjoy per capita council budget of £550 versus just £370 in Derry. These civil servants then use the Belfast airports so in effect subsidising them with business while the rate payers of Derry get to subsidise LDY's business losses.

Our railway is constantly being delayed on phrase II of the line upgrade and on the old station revamp. The A5 road to Dublin has been postponed until 2028 and A6 to Belfast is in limbo.

Our main stadium has been refused funds for renovation for the past 30 years while Stormont funded not 1, not 2, but 3 new stadia in Belfast for over £100 million with plans for a 4th stadium for athletics. Finally when we get funding for the Brandywell it is only £8 million and is not just for a stadium but for a host of projects in that area and will be funded by Derry City council not Stormont.

Our plastic tent/concert hall was refused £1 million to extend its lease for one more year while the Waterfront is getting a £29 million extension. Indeed is the rumour true that the concert hall could have been purchased for £6 million but was instead leased for a year for £4.6 million so that it would not form part of any legacy after City of Culture year.

The same fate befell the Turner Prize Gallery which had enjoyed 70,000 visitors in 2 months while millions have been spent on The Lyric Theatre (£11 million), The Opera House and The Ulster Museum all in Belfast. The Titanic Museum got £100 million of public funding on its own and when £20 million European funding application was turned down the Northern Ireland exchequer just picked that up as well.

Previously we had to fight to get gas extended to the West, they wanted our power station to close (and it was only the power station changing from coal to gas that saved both projects), they want to close down Magilligan jail and relocate the prisoners to a new prison near Belfast, they set a criteria of "within 45 miles of Belfast" for the new Police training college deliberately to exclude Derry even though the Irish government offered £50 million towards it's construction if it was in Derry, and they did eventually manage to steal Project Kelvin despite public assurances.

Then there's the questions over our regional cancer centre, lower allowances for housing benefit payments, tax breaks for commuting via public transport to Belfast but not Derry using the same Translink buses and trains, etc, etc, etc.

The discrimination against Derry and the West has been going on for years and regrettably the new Stormont and Good Friday Agreement has just repeated the age old pattern. https://www.change.org/p/the-northern-ireland-executive-that-the-stormont-executive-and-assembly-immediately-redresses-the-historical-infrastructural-deficit-in-derry-by-reinstating-the-a5-a6-upgrades-completing-the-passing-loop-on-the-derry-belfast-rail-line-and-passing-the?recruiter=20156180&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_responsive&utm_term=mob-xs-share_petition-custom_msg

The point in bold ignores the fact that people from North Down, Lisburn, South Antrim etc all travel into Belfast to work.

The  same way as people from Omagh, Letterkenny, Limavady, Inishowen etc travel into Derry for work. Your bit in bold is not relevant.

North Down, Lisburn, South Antrim etc. have populations many multiples of the areas you're talking about. For example, there are 20,000 people in Omagh, 70,000 in Lisburn, 20,000 in Letterkenny, 60,000 in Bangor... the point is that Belfast has a much bigger population catchment.

They may do have bigger populations but they don't have the bigger need. Creating jobs in Belfast where is difficult to get the experienced  staff while unemployment is higher elsewhere. Strange logic that.
Sinn Fien look the worst in this. Senior party in the executive, with a Derry deputy FM and ministers with powers to do something about it, but nothing is done about it.

[armaghniac]

Seen someone share this on facebook. I thought it was interesting

Belfastards, simply no other term for them.

In the six months between April and October Invest NI announced 5000 new jobs for Belfast but just 50 for Derry. These were jigh paid jobs not the low paid call centre type jobs given to Derry with one announcement paying on average £57,000. As Anita Robinson revealed on Radio Foyle in the past five years Derry has lost 2000 jobs while Belfast has gained 15000. To put that into perspective Derry only has about 35,000 jobs compared to over 200,000 in Belfast despite the fact that Derry is 40% the size of Belfast (measured by either council areas Derry 108,000 versus Belfast 267,000 or Greater Derry 237,000 v Greater Belfast 576,000; source Wikipedia).

Belfast gives itself 80% of Invest NI financing while Derry gets just 2.7%, organised by having 14 staff in Derry and 536 in Belfast.

We have been denied a University for 50 years now, while Belfast has managed to get both Universities located there. Now they're spending £300 million on a new campus in Belfast while saying there is no money for an £11 million building at Magee.

Aside from a promise of 500 jobs to Ballykelly which now looks doubtful there has been no decentralisation, neither the 5000 jobs mentioned in the Bain report nor the 20,000 jobs that would actually produce a fair redistribution of civil service jobs based on population levels. Apparently 1 in 12 in Belfast work for the civil service but in Derry what few jobs we have are being cut.

These 20000 extra civil servants in Belfast need housed in additional millions of square feet of office space which then serves as a subsidy via rates to Belfast City Council who then enjoy per capita council budget of £550 versus just £370 in Derry. These civil servants then use the Belfast airports so in effect subsidising them with business while the rate payers of Derry get to subsidise LDY's business losses.

Our railway is constantly being delayed on phrase II of the line upgrade and on the old station revamp. The A5 road to Dublin has been postponed until 2028 and A6 to Belfast is in limbo.

Our main stadium has been refused funds for renovation for the past 30 years while Stormont funded not 1, not 2, but 3 new stadia in Belfast for over £100 million with plans for a 4th stadium for athletics. Finally when we get funding for the Brandywell it is only £8 million and is not just for a stadium but for a host of projects in that area and will be funded by Derry City council not Stormont.

Our plastic tent/concert hall was refused £1 million to extend its lease for one more year while the Waterfront is getting a £29 million extension. Indeed is the rumour true that the concert hall could have been purchased for £6 million but was instead leased for a year for £4.6 million so that it would not form part of any legacy after City of Culture year.

The same fate befell the Turner Prize Gallery which had enjoyed 70,000 visitors in 2 months while millions have been spent on The Lyric Theatre (£11 million), The Opera House and The Ulster Museum all in Belfast. The Titanic Museum got £100 million of public funding on its own and when £20 million European funding application was turned down the Northern Ireland exchequer just picked that up as well.

Previously we had to fight to get gas extended to the West, they wanted our power station to close (and it was only the power station changing from coal to gas that saved both projects), they want to close down Magilligan jail and relocate the prisoners to a new prison near Belfast, they set a criteria of "within 45 miles of Belfast" for the new Police training college deliberately to exclude Derry even though the Irish government offered £50 million towards it's construction if it was in Derry, and they did eventually manage to steal Project Kelvin despite public assurances.

Then there's the questions over our regional cancer centre, lower allowances for housing benefit payments, tax breaks for commuting via public transport to Belfast but not Derry using the same Translink buses and trains, etc, etc, etc.

The discrimination against Derry and the West has been going on for years and regrettably the new Stormont and Good Friday Agreement has just repeated the age old pattern. https://www.change.org/p/the-northern-ireland-executive-that-the-stormont-executive-and-assembly-immediately-redresses-the-historical-infrastructural-deficit-in-derry-by-reinstating-the-a5-a6-upgrades-completing-the-passing-loop-on-the-derry-belfast-rail-line-and-passing-the?recruiter=20156180&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_responsive&utm_term=mob-xs-share_petition-custom_msg

The point in bold ignores the fact that people from North Down, Lisburn, South Antrim etc all travel into Belfast to work.

The  same way as people from Omagh, Letterkenny, Limavady, Inishowen etc travel into Derry for work. Your bit in bold is not relevant.

North Down, Lisburn, South Antrim etc. have populations many multiples of the areas you're talking about. For example, there are 20,000 people in Omagh, 70,000 in Lisburn, 20,000 in Letterkenny, 60,000 in Bangor... the point is that Belfast has a much bigger population catchment.

This may be true, but the contention is that Derry is 40% the size of Belfast, its catchment to work area is probably also close to 40% of the Belfast one.
Derry doesn't get much a fair shot at things. Even in the Republic where Dublin is dominant, Cork is prosperous and is a base for a variety of industries , Limerick and Galway have a motorway about to completed between them as well as one to Dublin, and all of these have full universities and a IT as well.

[Stall the Bailer]

Belfast gives itself 80% of Invest NI financing while Derry gets just 2.7%

Why does Belfast get 80%?
You will be a good few miles from Belfast before you get 80% of the north's population.

Maguire01 you only seem, to want to defend the unfair treatment of the northwest, picking out one line of the article. They are plenty of good points raised that could help to improve the situation. You don't seem to want to discuss the positives that could be reached.

[Maguire01]

Seen someone share this on facebook. I thought it was interesting

Belfastards, simply no other term for them.

In the six months between April and October Invest NI announced 5000 new jobs for Belfast but just 50 for Derry. These were jigh paid jobs not the low paid call centre type jobs given to Derry with one announcement paying on average £57,000. As Anita Robinson revealed on Radio Foyle in the past five years Derry has lost 2000 jobs while Belfast has gained 15000. To put that into perspective Derry only has about 35,000 jobs compared to over 200,000 in Belfast despite the fact that Derry is 40% the size of Belfast (measured by either council areas Derry 108,000 versus Belfast 267,000 or Greater Derry 237,000 v Greater Belfast 576,000; source Wikipedia).

Belfast gives itself 80% of Invest NI financing while Derry gets just 2.7%, organised by having 14 staff in Derry and 536 in Belfast.

We have been denied a University for 50 years now, while Belfast has managed to get both Universities located there. Now they're spending £300 million on a new campus in Belfast while saying there is no money for an £11 million building at Magee.

Aside from a promise of 500 jobs to Ballykelly which now looks doubtful there has been no decentralisation, neither the 5000 jobs mentioned in the Bain report nor the 20,000 jobs that would actually produce a fair redistribution of civil service jobs based on population levels. Apparently 1 in 12 in Belfast work for the civil service but in Derry what few jobs we have are being cut.

These 20000 extra civil servants in Belfast need housed in additional millions of square feet of office space which then serves as a subsidy via rates to Belfast City Council who then enjoy per capita council budget of £550 versus just £370 in Derry. These civil servants then use the Belfast airports so in effect subsidising them with business while the rate payers of Derry get to subsidise LDY's business losses.

Our railway is constantly being delayed on phrase II of the line upgrade and on the old station revamp. The A5 road to Dublin has been postponed until 2028 and A6 to Belfast is in limbo.

Our main stadium has been refused funds for renovation for the past 30 years while Stormont funded not 1, not 2, but 3 new stadia in Belfast for over £100 million with plans for a 4th stadium for athletics. Finally when we get funding for the Brandywell it is only £8 million and is not just for a stadium but for a host of projects in that area and will be funded by Derry City council not Stormont.

Our plastic tent/concert hall was refused £1 million to extend its lease for one more year while the Waterfront is getting a £29 million extension. Indeed is the rumour true that the concert hall could have been purchased for £6 million but was instead leased for a year for £4.6 million so that it would not form part of any legacy after City of Culture year.

The same fate befell the Turner Prize Gallery which had enjoyed 70,000 visitors in 2 months while millions have been spent on The Lyric Theatre (£11 million), The Opera House and The Ulster Museum all in Belfast. The Titanic Museum got £100 million of public funding on its own and when £20 million European funding application was turned down the Northern Ireland exchequer just picked that up as well.

Previously we had to fight to get gas extended to the West, they wanted our power station to close (and it was only the power station changing from coal to gas that saved both projects), they want to close down Magilligan jail and relocate the prisoners to a new prison near Belfast, they set a criteria of "within 45 miles of Belfast" for the new Police training college deliberately to exclude Derry even though the Irish government offered £50 million towards it's construction if it was in Derry, and they did eventually manage to steal Project Kelvin despite public assurances.

Then there's the questions over our regional cancer centre, lower allowances for housing benefit payments, tax breaks for commuting via public transport to Belfast but not Derry using the same Translink buses and trains, etc, etc, etc.

The discrimination against Derry and the West has been going on for years and regrettably the new Stormont and Good Friday Agreement has just repeated the age old pattern. https://www.change.org/p/the-northern-ireland-executive-that-the-stormont-executive-and-assembly-immediately-redresses-the-historical-infrastructural-deficit-in-derry-by-reinstating-the-a5-a6-upgrades-completing-the-passing-loop-on-the-derry-belfast-rail-line-and-passing-the?recruiter=20156180&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_responsive&utm_term=mob-xs-share_petition-custom_msg

The point in bold ignores the fact that people from North Down, Lisburn, South Antrim etc all travel into Belfast to work.

The  same way as people from Omagh, Letterkenny, Limavady, Inishowen etc travel into Derry for work. Your bit in bold is not relevant.

North Down, Lisburn, South Antrim etc. have populations many multiples of the areas you're talking about. For example, there are 20,000 people in Omagh, 70,000 in Lisburn, 20,000 in Letterkenny, 60,000 in Bangor... the point is that Belfast has a much bigger population catchment.

They may do have bigger populations but they don't have the bigger need. Creating jobs in Belfast where is difficult to get the experienced  staff while unemployment is higher elsewhere. Strange logic that.
Sinn Fien look the worst in this. Senior party in the executive, with a Derry deputy FM and ministers with powers to do something about it, but nothing is done about it.

They absolutely do, because they have the bigger population.

As for SF looking the worst out of it, it won't make a blind bit of difference. West Belfast continually fails to attract investment and prosperity, yet continues to return the same politicians. I can't see the logic myself.

[Maguire01]

Belfast gives itself 80% of Invest NI financing while Derry gets just 2.7%

Why does Belfast get 80%?
You will be a good few miles from Belfast before you get 80% of the north's population.

Maguire01 you only seem, to want to defend the unfair treatment of the northwest, picking out one line of the article. They are plenty of good points raised that could help to improve the situation. You don't seem to want to discuss the positives that could be reached.

Absolutely not. I don't think that Derry gets a fair slice of the cake. Neither does Fermanagh, Tyrone, Monaghan, Donegal... But it does it no favours when the argument makes disingenuous claims like the one I pointed out.

Derry clearly needs investment in terms of infrastructure (roads / rail etc.) before foreign companies will consider investing (the same with all the other places I mentioned. I (genuinely) don't know if Derry has an appropriate skills base to attract some of these jobs - for example, would Derry be able to provide the suitably skilled/educated resource for a Citibank type investment?

[Maguire01]

Seen someone share this on facebook. I thought it was interesting

Belfastards, simply no other term for them.

In the six months between April and October Invest NI announced 5000 new jobs for Belfast but just 50 for Derry. These were jigh paid jobs not the low paid call centre type jobs given to Derry with one announcement paying on average £57,000. As Anita Robinson revealed on Radio Foyle in the past five years Derry has lost 2000 jobs while Belfast has gained 15000. To put that into perspective Derry only has about 35,000 jobs compared to over 200,000 in Belfast despite the fact that Derry is 40% the size of Belfast (measured by either council areas Derry 108,000 versus Belfast 267,000 or Greater Derry 237,000 v Greater Belfast 576,000; source Wikipedia).

Belfast gives itself 80% of Invest NI financing while Derry gets just 2.7%, organised by having 14 staff in Derry and 536 in Belfast.

We have been denied a University for 50 years now, while Belfast has managed to get both Universities located there. Now they're spending £300 million on a new campus in Belfast while saying there is no money for an £11 million building at Magee.

Aside from a promise of 500 jobs to Ballykelly which now looks doubtful there has been no decentralisation, neither the 5000 jobs mentioned in the Bain report nor the 20,000 jobs that would actually produce a fair redistribution of civil service jobs based on population levels. Apparently 1 in 12 in Belfast work for the civil service but in Derry what few jobs we have are being cut.

These 20000 extra civil servants in Belfast need housed in additional millions of square feet of office space which then serves as a subsidy via rates to Belfast City Council who then enjoy per capita council budget of £550 versus just £370 in Derry. These civil servants then use the Belfast airports so in effect subsidising them with business while the rate payers of Derry get to subsidise LDY's business losses.

Our railway is constantly being delayed on phrase II of the line upgrade and on the old station revamp. The A5 road to Dublin has been postponed until 2028 and A6 to Belfast is in limbo.

Our main stadium has been refused funds for renovation for the past 30 years while Stormont funded not 1, not 2, but 3 new stadia in Belfast for over £100 million with plans for a 4th stadium for athletics. Finally when we get funding for the Brandywell it is only £8 million and is not just for a stadium but for a host of projects in that area and will be funded by Derry City council not Stormont.

Our plastic tent/concert hall was refused £1 million to extend its lease for one more year while the Waterfront is getting a £29 million extension. Indeed is the rumour true that the concert hall could have been purchased for £6 million but was instead leased for a year for £4.6 million so that it would not form part of any legacy after City of Culture year.

The same fate befell the Turner Prize Gallery which had enjoyed 70,000 visitors in 2 months while millions have been spent on The Lyric Theatre (£11 million), The Opera House and The Ulster Museum all in Belfast. The Titanic Museum got £100 million of public funding on its own and when £20 million European funding application was turned down the Northern Ireland exchequer just picked that up as well.

Previously we had to fight to get gas extended to the West, they wanted our power station to close (and it was only the power station changing from coal to gas that saved both projects), they want to close down Magilligan jail and relocate the prisoners to a new prison near Belfast, they set a criteria of "within 45 miles of Belfast" for the new Police training college deliberately to exclude Derry even though the Irish government offered £50 million towards it's construction if it was in Derry, and they did eventually manage to steal Project Kelvin despite public assurances.

Then there's the questions over our regional cancer centre, lower allowances for housing benefit payments, tax breaks for commuting via public transport to Belfast but not Derry using the same Translink buses and trains, etc, etc, etc.

The discrimination against Derry and the West has been going on for years and regrettably the new Stormont and Good Friday Agreement has just repeated the age old pattern. https://www.change.org/p/the-northern-ireland-executive-that-the-stormont-executive-and-assembly-immediately-redresses-the-historical-infrastructural-deficit-in-derry-by-reinstating-the-a5-a6-upgrades-completing-the-passing-loop-on-the-derry-belfast-rail-line-and-passing-the?recruiter=20156180&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_responsive&utm_term=mob-xs-share_petition-custom_msg

The point in bold ignores the fact that people from North Down, Lisburn, South Antrim etc all travel into Belfast to work.

The  same way as people from Omagh, Letterkenny, Limavady, Inishowen etc travel into Derry for work. Your bit in bold is not relevant.

North Down, Lisburn, South Antrim etc. have populations many multiples of the areas you're talking about. For example, there are 20,000 people in Omagh, 70,000 in Lisburn, 20,000 in Letterkenny, 60,000 in Bangor... the point is that Belfast has a much bigger population catchment.

This may be true, but the contention is that Derry is 40% the size of Belfast, its catchment to work area is probably also close to 40% of the Belfast one.
Derry doesn't get much a fair shot at things. Even in the Republic where Dublin is dominant, Cork is prosperous and is a base for a variety of industries , Limerick and Galway have a motorway about to completed between them as well as one to Dublin, and all of these have full universities and a IT as well.

Eh, but i've just shown that it isn't. Derry's catchment (in terms of population) isn't even close to Belfast's.

[Stall the Bailer]

Seen someone share this on facebook. I thought it was interesting

Belfastards, simply no other term for them.

In the six months between April and October Invest NI announced 5000 new jobs for Belfast but just 50 for Derry. These were jigh paid jobs not the low paid call centre type jobs given to Derry with one announcement paying on average £57,000. As Anita Robinson revealed on Radio Foyle in the past five years Derry has lost 2000 jobs while Belfast has gained 15000. To put that into perspective Derry only has about 35,000 jobs compared to over 200,000 in Belfast despite the fact that Derry is 40% the size of Belfast (measured by either council areas Derry 108,000 versus Belfast 267,000 or Greater Derry 237,000 v Greater Belfast 576,000; source Wikipedia).

Belfast gives itself 80% of Invest NI financing while Derry gets just 2.7%, organised by having 14 staff in Derry and 536 in Belfast.

We have been denied a University for 50 years now, while Belfast has managed to get both Universities located there. Now they're spending £300 million on a new campus in Belfast while saying there is no money for an £11 million building at Magee.

Aside from a promise of 500 jobs to Ballykelly which now looks doubtful there has been no decentralisation, neither the 5000 jobs mentioned in the Bain report nor the 20,000 jobs that would actually produce a fair redistribution of civil service jobs based on population levels. Apparently 1 in 12 in Belfast work for the civil service but in Derry what few jobs we have are being cut.

These 20000 extra civil servants in Belfast need housed in additional millions of square feet of office space which then serves as a subsidy via rates to Belfast City Council who then enjoy per capita council budget of £550 versus just £370 in Derry. These civil servants then use the Belfast airports so in effect subsidising them with business while the rate payers of Derry get to subsidise LDY's business losses.

Our railway is constantly being delayed on phrase II of the line upgrade and on the old station revamp. The A5 road to Dublin has been postponed until 2028 and A6 to Belfast is in limbo.

Our main stadium has been refused funds for renovation for the past 30 years while Stormont funded not 1, not 2, but 3 new stadia in Belfast for over £100 million with plans for a 4th stadium for athletics. Finally when we get funding for the Brandywell it is only £8 million and is not just for a stadium but for a host of projects in that area and will be funded by Derry City council not Stormont.

Our plastic tent/concert hall was refused £1 million to extend its lease for one more year while the Waterfront is getting a £29 million extension. Indeed is the rumour true that the concert hall could have been purchased for £6 million but was instead leased for a year for £4.6 million so that it would not form part of any legacy after City of Culture year.

The same fate befell the Turner Prize Gallery which had enjoyed 70,000 visitors in 2 months while millions have been spent on The Lyric Theatre (£11 million), The Opera House and The Ulster Museum all in Belfast. The Titanic Museum got £100 million of public funding on its own and when £20 million European funding application was turned down the Northern Ireland exchequer just picked that up as well.

Previously we had to fight to get gas extended to the West, they wanted our power station to close (and it was only the power station changing from coal to gas that saved both projects), they want to close down Magilligan jail and relocate the prisoners to a new prison near Belfast, they set a criteria of "within 45 miles of Belfast" for the new Police training college deliberately to exclude Derry even though the Irish government offered £50 million towards it's construction if it was in Derry, and they did eventually manage to steal Project Kelvin despite public assurances.

Then there's the questions over our regional cancer centre, lower allowances for housing benefit payments, tax breaks for commuting via public transport to Belfast but not Derry using the same Translink buses and trains, etc, etc, etc.

The discrimination against Derry and the West has been going on for years and regrettably the new Stormont and Good Friday Agreement has just repeated the age old pattern. https://www.change.org/p/the-northern-ireland-executive-that-the-stormont-executive-and-assembly-immediately-redresses-the-historical-infrastructural-deficit-in-derry-by-reinstating-the-a5-a6-upgrades-completing-the-passing-loop-on-the-derry-belfast-rail-line-and-passing-the?recruiter=20156180&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_responsive&utm_term=mob-xs-share_petition-custom_msg

The point in bold ignores the fact that people from North Down, Lisburn, South Antrim etc all travel into Belfast to work.

The  same way as people from Omagh, Letterkenny, Limavady, Inishowen etc travel into Derry for work. Your bit in bold is not relevant.

North Down, Lisburn, South Antrim etc. have populations many multiples of the areas you're talking about. For example, there are 20,000 people in Omagh, 70,000 in Lisburn, 20,000 in Letterkenny, 60,000 in Bangor... the point is that Belfast has a much bigger population catchment.

They may do have bigger populations but they don't have the bigger need. Creating jobs in Belfast where is difficult to get the experienced  staff while unemployment is higher elsewhere. Strange logic that.
Sinn Fien look the worst in this. Senior party in the executive, with a Derry deputy FM and ministers with powers to do something about it, but nothing is done about it.

They absolutely do, because they have the bigger population.

As for SF looking the worst out of it, it won't make a blind bit of difference. West Belfast continually fails to attract investment and prosperity, yet continues to return the same politicians. I can't see the logic myself.

They do not have a 77.3% bigger need than Derry. That is just wrong. The getting more proportionally than Derry and have done for a long time. Derry should actually be getting more proportionally to make up the under investment or a long period of time.

[Stall the Bailer]

Belfast gives itself 80% of Invest NI financing while Derry gets just 2.7%

Why does Belfast get 80%?
You will be a good few miles from Belfast before you get 80% of the north's population.

Maguire01 you only seem, to want to defend the unfair treatment of the northwest, picking out one line of the article. They are plenty of good points raised that could help to improve the situation. You don't seem to want to discuss the positives that could be reached.

Absolutely not. I don't think that Derry gets a fair slice of the cake. Neither does Fermanagh, Tyrone, Monaghan, Donegal... But it does it no favours when the argument makes disingenuous claims like the one I pointed out.

Derry clearly needs investment in terms of infrastructure (roads / rail etc.) before foreign companies will consider investing (the same with all the other places I mentioned. I (genuinely) don't know if Derry has an appropriate skills base to attract some of these jobs - for example, would Derry be able to provide the suitably skilled/educated resource for a Citibank type investment?
Well ifother smaller Cities like Galway can, why not Derry? Many of the people who work in Citigroup/Allstate/Intel/Google etc are from Derry/Tyrone/Donegal. They could work at home instead of Belfast/Dublin etc.

[Stall the Bailer]

Seen someone share this on facebook. I thought it was interesting

Belfastards, simply no other term for them.

In the six months between April and October Invest NI announced 5000 new jobs for Belfast but just 50 for Derry. These were jigh paid jobs not the low paid call centre type jobs given to Derry with one announcement paying on average £57,000. As Anita Robinson revealed on Radio Foyle in the past five years Derry has lost 2000 jobs while Belfast has gained 15000. To put that into perspective Derry only has about 35,000 jobs compared to over 200,000 in Belfast despite the fact that Derry is 40% the size of Belfast (measured by either council areas Derry 108,000 versus Belfast 267,000 or Greater Derry 237,000 v Greater Belfast 576,000; source Wikipedia).

Belfast gives itself 80% of Invest NI financing while Derry gets just 2.7%, organised by having 14 staff in Derry and 536 in Belfast.

We have been denied a University for 50 years now, while Belfast has managed to get both Universities located there. Now they're spending £300 million on a new campus in Belfast while saying there is no money for an £11 million building at Magee.

Aside from a promise of 500 jobs to Ballykelly which now looks doubtful there has been no decentralisation, neither the 5000 jobs mentioned in the Bain report nor the 20,000 jobs that would actually produce a fair redistribution of civil service jobs based on population levels. Apparently 1 in 12 in Belfast work for the civil service but in Derry what few jobs we have are being cut.

These 20000 extra civil servants in Belfast need housed in additional millions of square feet of office space which then serves as a subsidy via rates to Belfast City Council who then enjoy per capita council budget of £550 versus just £370 in Derry. These civil servants then use the Belfast airports so in effect subsidising them with business while the rate payers of Derry get to subsidise LDY's business losses.

Our railway is constantly being delayed on phrase II of the line upgrade and on the old station revamp. The A5 road to Dublin has been postponed until 2028 and A6 to Belfast is in limbo.

Our main stadium has been refused funds for renovation for the past 30 years while Stormont funded not 1, not 2, but 3 new stadia in Belfast for over £100 million with plans for a 4th stadium for athletics. Finally when we get funding for the Brandywell it is only £8 million and is not just for a stadium but for a host of projects in that area and will be funded by Derry City council not Stormont.

Our plastic tent/concert hall was refused £1 million to extend its lease for one more year while the Waterfront is getting a £29 million extension. Indeed is the rumour true that the concert hall could have been purchased for £6 million but was instead leased for a year for £4.6 million so that it would not form part of any legacy after City of Culture year.

The same fate befell the Turner Prize Gallery which had enjoyed 70,000 visitors in 2 months while millions have been spent on The Lyric Theatre (£11 million), The Opera House and The Ulster Museum all in Belfast. The Titanic Museum got £100 million of public funding on its own and when £20 million European funding application was turned down the Northern Ireland exchequer just picked that up as well.

Previously we had to fight to get gas extended to the West, they wanted our power station to close (and it was only the power station changing from coal to gas that saved both projects), they want to close down Magilligan jail and relocate the prisoners to a new prison near Belfast, they set a criteria of "within 45 miles of Belfast" for the new Police training college deliberately to exclude Derry even though the Irish government offered £50 million towards it's construction if it was in Derry, and they did eventually manage to steal Project Kelvin despite public assurances.

Then there's the questions over our regional cancer centre, lower allowances for housing benefit payments, tax breaks for commuting via public transport to Belfast but not Derry using the same Translink buses and trains, etc, etc, etc.

The discrimination against Derry and the West has been going on for years and regrettably the new Stormont and Good Friday Agreement has just repeated the age old pattern. https://www.change.org/p/the-northern-ireland-executive-that-the-stormont-executive-and-assembly-immediately-redresses-the-historical-infrastructural-deficit-in-derry-by-reinstating-the-a5-a6-upgrades-completing-the-passing-loop-on-the-derry-belfast-rail-line-and-passing-the?recruiter=20156180&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_responsive&utm_term=mob-xs-share_petition-custom_msg

The point in bold ignores the fact that people from North Down, Lisburn, South Antrim etc all travel into Belfast to work.

The  same way as people from Omagh, Letterkenny, Limavady, Inishowen etc travel into Derry for work. Your bit in bold is not relevant.

North Down, Lisburn, South Antrim etc. have populations many multiples of the areas you're talking about. For example, there are 20,000 people in Omagh, 70,000 in Lisburn, 20,000 in Letterkenny, 60,000 in Bangor... the point is that Belfast has a much bigger population catchment.

This may be true, but the contention is that Derry is 40% the size of Belfast, its catchment to work area is probably also close to 40% of the Belfast one.
Derry doesn't get much a fair shot at things. Even in the Republic where Dublin is dominant, Cork is prosperous and is a base for a variety of industries , Limerick and Galway have a motorway about to completed between them as well as one to Dublin, and all of these have full universities and a IT as well.

Eh, but i've just shown that it isn't. Derry's catchment (in terms of population) isn't even close to Belfast's.

The article says 40% the size of Belfast, it doesn't try to say it is close to the size of Belfast, only you say that. And you don't provide any links to what the difference is, you have just listed some big towns near to Belfast, saying it is bigger.
Where have you proved it is not 40% size of Belfast?

[armaghniac]

The article says 40% the size of Belfast, it doesn't try to say it is close to the size of Belfast, only you say that. And you don't provide any links to what the difference is, you have just listed some big towns near to Belfast, saying it is bigger.
Where have you proved it is not 40% size of Belfast?

This. Unless the commute to work proportion is radically different than 40% then it does not change the point, and even if it were it might change the ratio to 38% (say) which makes no real different to the comparison that Belfast gives itself 80% of Invest NI financing while Derry gets just 2.7%.

[Stall the Bailer]

Seen someone share this on facebook. I thought it was interesting

Belfastards, simply no other term for them.

In the six months between April and October Invest NI announced 5000 new jobs for Belfast but just 50 for Derry. These were jigh paid jobs not the low paid call centre type jobs given to Derry with one announcement paying on average £57,000. As Anita Robinson revealed on Radio Foyle in the past five years Derry has lost 2000 jobs while Belfast has gained 15000. To put that into perspective Derry only has about 35,000 jobs compared to over 200,000 in Belfast despite the fact that Derry is 40% the size of Belfast (measured by either council areas Derry 108,000 versus Belfast 267,000 or Greater Derry 237,000 v Greater Belfast 576,000; source Wikipedia).

Belfast gives itself 80% of Invest NI financing while Derry gets just 2.7%, organised by having 14 staff in Derry and 536 in Belfast.

We have been denied a University for 50 years now, while Belfast has managed to get both Universities located there. Now they're spending £300 million on a new campus in Belfast while saying there is no money for an £11 million building at Magee.

Aside from a promise of 500 jobs to Ballykelly which now looks doubtful there has been no decentralisation, neither the 5000 jobs mentioned in the Bain report nor the 20,000 jobs that would actually produce a fair redistribution of civil service jobs based on population levels. Apparently 1 in 12 in Belfast work for the civil service but in Derry what few jobs we have are being cut.

These 20000 extra civil servants in Belfast need housed in additional millions of square feet of office space which then serves as a subsidy via rates to Belfast City Council who then enjoy per capita council budget of £550 versus just £370 in Derry. These civil servants then use the Belfast airports so in effect subsidising them with business while the rate payers of Derry get to subsidise LDY's business losses.

Our railway is constantly being delayed on phrase II of the line upgrade and on the old station revamp. The A5 road to Dublin has been postponed until 2028 and A6 to Belfast is in limbo.

Our main stadium has been refused funds for renovation for the past 30 years while Stormont funded not 1, not 2, but 3 new stadia in Belfast for over £100 million with plans for a 4th stadium for athletics. Finally when we get funding for the Brandywell it is only £8 million and is not just for a stadium but for a host of projects in that area and will be funded by Derry City council not Stormont.

Our plastic tent/concert hall was refused £1 million to extend its lease for one more year while the Waterfront is getting a £29 million extension. Indeed is the rumour true that the concert hall could have been purchased for £6 million but was instead leased for a year for £4.6 million so that it would not form part of any legacy after City of Culture year.

The same fate befell the Turner Prize Gallery which had enjoyed 70,000 visitors in 2 months while millions have been spent on The Lyric Theatre (£11 million), The Opera House and The Ulster Museum all in Belfast. The Titanic Museum got £100 million of public funding on its own and when £20 million European funding application was turned down the Northern Ireland exchequer just picked that up as well.

Previously we had to fight to get gas extended to the West, they wanted our power station to close (and it was only the power station changing from coal to gas that saved both projects), they want to close down Magilligan jail and relocate the prisoners to a new prison near Belfast, they set a criteria of "within 45 miles of Belfast" for the new Police training college deliberately to exclude Derry even though the Irish government offered £50 million towards it's construction if it was in Derry, and they did eventually manage to steal Project Kelvin despite public assurances.

Then there's the questions over our regional cancer centre, lower allowances for housing benefit payments, tax breaks for commuting via public transport to Belfast but not Derry using the same Translink buses and trains, etc, etc, etc.

The discrimination against Derry and the West has been going on for years and regrettably the new Stormont and Good Friday Agreement has just repeated the age old pattern. https://www.change.org/p/the-northern-ireland-executive-that-the-stormont-executive-and-assembly-immediately-redresses-the-historical-infrastructural-deficit-in-derry-by-reinstating-the-a5-a6-upgrades-completing-the-passing-loop-on-the-derry-belfast-rail-line-and-passing-the?recruiter=20156180&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_responsive&utm_term=mob-xs-share_petition-custom_msg

The point in bold ignores the fact that people from North Down, Lisburn, South Antrim etc all travel into Belfast to work.

The  same way as people from Omagh, Letterkenny, Limavady, Inishowen etc travel into Derry for work. Your bit in bold is not relevant.

North Down, Lisburn, South Antrim etc. have populations many multiples of the areas you're talking about. For example, there are 20,000 people in Omagh, 70,000 in Lisburn, 20,000 in Letterkenny, 60,000 in Bangor... the point is that Belfast has a much bigger population catchment.

They may do have bigger populations but they don't have the bigger need. Creating jobs in Belfast where is difficult to get the experienced  staff while unemployment is higher elsewhere. Strange logic that.
Sinn Fien look the worst in this. Senior party in the executive, with a Derry deputy FM and ministers with powers to do something about it, but nothing is done about it.

They absolutely do, because they have the bigger population.

As for SF looking the worst out of it, it won't make a blind bit of difference. West Belfast continually fails to attract investment and prosperity, yet continues to return the same politicians. I can't see the logic myself.

I should have also said the SDLP have not helped the situation either. The sitting MP for foyle for the last life time has been SDLP. All politicians of the northwest have been poor in this regard.
West Belfast is part of Belfast, they are within walking distance to plenty of these jobs. Certainly don't have commute 2 hours to get to them.
It is like the flegers protesting, all the investment is within short traveling distance to them and they think they are getting shafted.

[Maguire01]

Seen someone share this on facebook. I thought it was interesting

Belfastards, simply no other term for them.

In the six months between April and October Invest NI announced 5000 new jobs for Belfast but just 50 for Derry. These were jigh paid jobs not the low paid call centre type jobs given to Derry with one announcement paying on average £57,000. As Anita Robinson revealed on Radio Foyle in the past five years Derry has lost 2000 jobs while Belfast has gained 15000. To put that into perspective Derry only has about 35,000 jobs compared to over 200,000 in Belfast despite the fact that Derry is 40% the size of Belfast (measured by either council areas Derry 108,000 versus Belfast 267,000 or Greater Derry 237,000 v Greater Belfast 576,000; source Wikipedia).

Belfast gives itself 80% of Invest NI financing while Derry gets just 2.7%, organised by having 14 staff in Derry and 536 in Belfast.

We have been denied a University for 50 years now, while Belfast has managed to get both Universities located there. Now they're spending £300 million on a new campus in Belfast while saying there is no money for an £11 million building at Magee.

Aside from a promise of 500 jobs to Ballykelly which now looks doubtful there has been no decentralisation, neither the 5000 jobs mentioned in the Bain report nor the 20,000 jobs that would actually produce a fair redistribution of civil service jobs based on population levels. Apparently 1 in 12 in Belfast work for the civil service but in Derry what few jobs we have are being cut.

These 20000 extra civil servants in Belfast need housed in additional millions of square feet of office space which then serves as a subsidy via rates to Belfast City Council who then enjoy per capita council budget of £550 versus just £370 in Derry. These civil servants then use the Belfast airports so in effect subsidising them with business while the rate payers of Derry get to subsidise LDY's business losses.

Our railway is constantly being delayed on phrase II of the line upgrade and on the old station revamp. The A5 road to Dublin has been postponed until 2028 and A6 to Belfast is in limbo.

Our main stadium has been refused funds for renovation for the past 30 years while Stormont funded not 1, not 2, but 3 new stadia in Belfast for over £100 million with plans for a 4th stadium for athletics. Finally when we get funding for the Brandywell it is only £8 million and is not just for a stadium but for a host of projects in that area and will be funded by Derry City council not Stormont.

Our plastic tent/concert hall was refused £1 million to extend its lease for one more year while the Waterfront is getting a £29 million extension. Indeed is the rumour true that the concert hall could have been purchased for £6 million but was instead leased for a year for £4.6 million so that it would not form part of any legacy after City of Culture year.

The same fate befell the Turner Prize Gallery which had enjoyed 70,000 visitors in 2 months while millions have been spent on The Lyric Theatre (£11 million), The Opera House and The Ulster Museum all in Belfast. The Titanic Museum got £100 million of public funding on its own and when £20 million European funding application was turned down the Northern Ireland exchequer just picked that up as well.

Previously we had to fight to get gas extended to the West, they wanted our power station to close (and it was only the power station changing from coal to gas that saved both projects), they want to close down Magilligan jail and relocate the prisoners to a new prison near Belfast, they set a criteria of "within 45 miles of Belfast" for the new Police training college deliberately to exclude Derry even though the Irish government offered £50 million towards it's construction if it was in Derry, and they did eventually manage to steal Project Kelvin despite public assurances.

Then there's the questions over our regional cancer centre, lower allowances for housing benefit payments, tax breaks for commuting via public transport to Belfast but not Derry using the same Translink buses and trains, etc, etc, etc.

The discrimination against Derry and the West has been going on for years and regrettably the new Stormont and Good Friday Agreement has just repeated the age old pattern. https://www.change.org/p/the-northern-ireland-executive-that-the-stormont-executive-and-assembly-immediately-redresses-the-historical-infrastructural-deficit-in-derry-by-reinstating-the-a5-a6-upgrades-completing-the-passing-loop-on-the-derry-belfast-rail-line-and-passing-the?recruiter=20156180&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_responsive&utm_term=mob-xs-share_petition-custom_msg

The point in bold ignores the fact that people from North Down, Lisburn, South Antrim etc all travel into Belfast to work.

The  same way as people from Omagh, Letterkenny, Limavady, Inishowen etc travel into Derry for work. Your bit in bold is not relevant.

North Down, Lisburn, South Antrim etc. have populations many multiples of the areas you're talking about. For example, there are 20,000 people in Omagh, 70,000 in Lisburn, 20,000 in Letterkenny, 60,000 in Bangor... the point is that Belfast has a much bigger population catchment.

This may be true, but the contention is that Derry is 40% the size of Belfast, its catchment to work area is probably also close to 40% of the Belfast one.
Derry doesn't get much a fair shot at things. Even in the Republic where Dublin is dominant, Cork is prosperous and is a base for a variety of industries , Limerick and Galway have a motorway about to completed between them as well as one to Dublin, and all of these have full universities and a IT as well.

Eh, but i've just shown that it isn't. Derry's catchment (in terms of population) isn't even close to Belfast's.

The article says 40% the size of Belfast, it doesn't try to say it is close to the size of Belfast, only you say that. And you don't provide any links to what the difference is, you have just listed some big towns near to Belfast, saying it is bigger.
Where have you proved it is not 40% size of Belfast?

Fair point - my mistake, although the comparison of "Greater" Belfast to "Greater" Derry ignores the fact that the catchment areas for these cities is much wider than the "Greater" areas.

[Maguire01]

Seen someone share this on facebook. I thought it was interesting

Belfastards, simply no other term for them.

In the six months between April and October Invest NI announced 5000 new jobs for Belfast but just 50 for Derry. These were jigh paid jobs not the low paid call centre type jobs given to Derry with one announcement paying on average £57,000. As Anita Robinson revealed on Radio Foyle in the past five years Derry has lost 2000 jobs while Belfast has gained 15000. To put that into perspective Derry only has about 35,000 jobs compared to over 200,000 in Belfast despite the fact that Derry is 40% the size of Belfast (measured by either council areas Derry 108,000 versus Belfast 267,000 or Greater Derry 237,000 v Greater Belfast 576,000; source Wikipedia).

Belfast gives itself 80% of Invest NI financing while Derry gets just 2.7%, organised by having 14 staff in Derry and 536 in Belfast.

We have been denied a University for 50 years now, while Belfast has managed to get both Universities located there. Now they're spending £300 million on a new campus in Belfast while saying there is no money for an £11 million building at Magee.

Aside from a promise of 500 jobs to Ballykelly which now looks doubtful there has been no decentralisation, neither the 5000 jobs mentioned in the Bain report nor the 20,000 jobs that would actually produce a fair redistribution of civil service jobs based on population levels. Apparently 1 in 12 in Belfast work for the civil service but in Derry what few jobs we have are being cut.

These 20000 extra civil servants in Belfast need housed in additional millions of square feet of office space which then serves as a subsidy via rates to Belfast City Council who then enjoy per capita council budget of £550 versus just £370 in Derry. These civil servants then use the Belfast airports so in effect subsidising them with business while the rate payers of Derry get to subsidise LDY's business losses.

Our railway is constantly being delayed on phrase II of the line upgrade and on the old station revamp. The A5 road to Dublin has been postponed until 2028 and A6 to Belfast is in limbo.

Our main stadium has been refused funds for renovation for the past 30 years while Stormont funded not 1, not 2, but 3 new stadia in Belfast for over £100 million with plans for a 4th stadium for athletics. Finally when we get funding for the Brandywell it is only £8 million and is not just for a stadium but for a host of projects in that area and will be funded by Derry City council not Stormont.

Our plastic tent/concert hall was refused £1 million to extend its lease for one more year while the Waterfront is getting a £29 million extension. Indeed is the rumour true that the concert hall could have been purchased for £6 million but was instead leased for a year for £4.6 million so that it would not form part of any legacy after City of Culture year.

The same fate befell the Turner Prize Gallery which had enjoyed 70,000 visitors in 2 months while millions have been spent on The Lyric Theatre (£11 million), The Opera House and The Ulster Museum all in Belfast. The Titanic Museum got £100 million of public funding on its own and when £20 million European funding application was turned down the Northern Ireland exchequer just picked that up as well.

Previously we had to fight to get gas extended to the West, they wanted our power station to close (and it was only the power station changing from coal to gas that saved both projects), they want to close down Magilligan jail and relocate the prisoners to a new prison near Belfast, they set a criteria of "within 45 miles of Belfast" for the new Police training college deliberately to exclude Derry even though the Irish government offered £50 million towards it's construction if it was in Derry, and they did eventually manage to steal Project Kelvin despite public assurances.

Then there's the questions over our regional cancer centre, lower allowances for housing benefit payments, tax breaks for commuting via public transport to Belfast but not Derry using the same Translink buses and trains, etc, etc, etc.

The discrimination against Derry and the West has been going on for years and regrettably the new Stormont and Good Friday Agreement has just repeated the age old pattern. https://www.change.org/p/the-northern-ireland-executive-that-the-stormont-executive-and-assembly-immediately-redresses-the-historical-infrastructural-deficit-in-derry-by-reinstating-the-a5-a6-upgrades-completing-the-passing-loop-on-the-derry-belfast-rail-line-and-passing-the?recruiter=20156180&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=share_facebook_responsive&utm_term=mob-xs-share_petition-custom_msg

The point in bold ignores the fact that people from North Down, Lisburn, South Antrim etc all travel into Belfast to work.

The  same way as people from Omagh, Letterkenny, Limavady, Inishowen etc travel into Derry for work. Your bit in bold is not relevant.

North Down, Lisburn, South Antrim etc. have populations many multiples of the areas you're talking about. For example, there are 20,000 people in Omagh, 70,000 in Lisburn, 20,000 in Letterkenny, 60,000 in Bangor... the point is that Belfast has a much bigger population catchment.

They may do have bigger populations but they don't have the bigger need. Creating jobs in Belfast where is difficult to get the experienced  staff while unemployment is higher elsewhere. Strange logic that.
Sinn Fien look the worst in this. Senior party in the executive, with a Derry deputy FM and ministers with powers to do something about it, but nothing is done about it.

They absolutely do, because they have the bigger population.

As for SF looking the worst out of it, it won't make a blind bit of difference. West Belfast continually fails to attract investment and prosperity, yet continues to return the same politicians. I can't see the logic myself.

I should have also said the SDLP have not helped the situation either. The sitting MP for foyle for the last life time has been SDLP. All politicians of the northwest have been poor in this regard.
West Belfast is part of Belfast, they are within walking distance to plenty of these jobs. Certainly don't have commute 2 hours to get to them.
It is like the flegers protesting, all the investment is within short traveling distance to them and they think they are getting shafted.

Agreed.
It's just not an easy fix. It's a bit catch 22 - need the population in an area to justify investment - won't have the population until you invest, companies want to invest where there are other companies etc.