All parties have submitted manifestos but they leave a lot to be desired, writes Joe Humphreys.

It's the economy stupid! So say politicians everywhere. Except for Northern Ireland, that is, where economic policy hardly gets a mention amid the posturing and bluster of electioneering.

Manifestos for next Wednesday's Assembly elections tend to be long on rhetoric and skimpy on detail when addressing the economy, if they do so at all.

The subject takes up a mere three-quarters of a page in the DUP's 32-page manifesto, compared with almost a third of the SDLP's 36-page publication.

Nowhere, moreover, is policy entirely divorced from political ideology. Witness Sinn Féin's call for defence resources that are used to maintain "the British war machine in Ireland" to be redirected to special job-creation measures.

Or, the DUP's pledge to fight "Trimble's new taxes", personally targeting the Ulster Unionist leader for suggesting "new revenue streams" are needed for the Assembly.

Stripped down to their basics, however, the manifestos share concerns in a number of key areas, including infrastructure, insurance costs and inward investment.

The UUP states that devolution has generated a "vibrant economy" in the North, including the lowest rate of unemployment for decades. But, it says: "Northern Ireland businesses are disadvantaged by higher costs, particularly in the areas of transport, electricity and, most recently, insurance."

The party's key commitments include promoting local industry, "highlighting" insurance costs and increasing linkages between education and business.

It also pledges greater investment in public sector transport to reduce congestion, and commits itself to developing dual-carriaging on roads from Belfast to Coleraine, Derry, Enniskillen and Newry.

The SDLP champions a series of all-Ireland initiatives, including the creation of a new transport and infrastructure body which would produce "a strategic development framework" for the island's air and sea ports and economic corridors.

The party also calls for greater co-operation on cross-Border trading, energy policy, marketing, investment and research.

In addition, the SDLP commits itself to introducing a "menu of reliefs and exemptions" to protect vulnerable sectors and encourage businesses in areas of high unemployment.

Specifically, it suggests new tax and rate relief to offset spending on research and development, training and marketing.

Elsewhere, SDLP policies include the creation of an Enterprise Growth Fund which would be modelled on Enterprise Ireland and comprise loan and equity funds to promote business start-ups.

On infrastructure, it pledges to secure funding to upgrade key road networks including Dublin-Derry and modernise the rail network, including the Derry-Belfast line.

Not all SDLP policies will be welcomed by business groups, however, notably its commitment to a £5 minimum wage.

Sinn Féin goes further on workers' rights, seeking to make grants and assistance to business conditional on companies accepting the right to trade union membership and representation. "All grants should be recoverable where businesses close operations in Ireland inappropriately," it adds.

Other Sinn Féin policies are increased support for small businesses, including the development of "new local brands".

Current plans by the Department of Trade and Industry to encourage 6,000 new business start-ups over the next three years are "insufficient", the party says.

The all-Ireland dimension also features heavily in Sinn Féin's manifesto with calls for single economic development and transport strategies for the island.

With a gloomier outlook to the UUP, the party says: "The six-county economy is heavily dependent on the low-wage economy and public sector employment.

Inward investment is at a 10-year low, nearly 4,000 manufacturing jobs were lost last year alone and manufacturing employment has fallen below 100,000 for the first time."

The last of the "big four" parties, the DUP, focuses its attack on public service charges and alleged overspending on administration. In an overtly political move, it calls for the offices of the First Minister and Deputy First Minister to be cut in size, and the number of Assembly members reduced from 108 to 72.

"At regional level, the pro-Agreement parties have devised a form of government with too many layers of administration and too many checks to effective governance.

"As a result, we have an ever-growing bureaucracy devouring resources which are needed for front-line services and investment," the party states.

Other parties also emphasise the need for civil service reform, with the SDLP calling for administrative costs to be capped, and for "air miles" acquired through the civil service to be redistributed to charities.

The party also plans to decentralise government functions, including at least 2,000 jobs to towns across the North within five years.

The UUP is the least vocal on the issue, saying it is committed to "pushing forward" a review of public administration to reduce bureaucracy and improve efficiency.

Another issue which is causing parallel debate in the Republic is insurance costs with Sinn Féin calling for research into the viability of a state-run insurance cover, and the SDLP seeking the European Commission to investigate competition in the insurance market.

Positions on the euro, meanwhile, mirror the political divide, with republican parties saying they would back any referendum on joining the currency (in Sinn Féin's case something of a U-turn since the last European elections) and unionists saying the reverse.

As to what the fifth-largest party in the North thinks; the short answer is not very much ... of the economic policies of its rivals.

"For far too long, parties in Northern Ireland continue to be allowed to get away with shoddy wish-lists as manifestos," says the Alliance's East Antrim candidate Mr Stewart Dickson.

"These manifestos would be laughed off the doorsteps and exposed as empty promises in a British election."