NI 'still in running' for 600 Ryanair jobs

Northern Ireland is still in the running to be a location for a Ryanair engine maintenance facility which could create up to 600 jobs, MLAs have been told.

A senior official told Stormont's economy committee that discussions were now at an advanced stage, with another meeting due next week.

There are no guarantees that the project will come to NI with the airline also considering sites in Spain and eastern Europe.

"We are in a competitive environment, competing against a number of other sites across Europe," Ciaran McGarrity told the committee.

He characterised next week's meeting as a workshop "to make sure we get the detail we require that would justify an investment into that project".

He said some money from the NI Enhanced Investment Zone, a UK government funded initiative, could be directed towards the investment "if that project materialised".

McGarrity said Ryanair had been looking at different aspects of what would be required for an investment.

"They have been up here on a number of occasions looking at various opportunities, particularly on the skills opportunity with the colleges."

Last week Ryanair said it was investing £40m to expand an existing maintenance operation at Prestwick in Scotland.

The airline is planning to bring engine maintenance in-house to two facilities starting from 2029.