Stewart welcomes extra DFI budget allocations to road repairs
John Stewart, the Ulster Unionist Party’s Infrastructure
spokesperson, has welcomed the allocation to the roads maintenance budget, announced
by the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Infrastructure.
John
Stewart MLA said:
“The
Ulster Unionist Party has long recognised that a much greater priority needed
to be given to the roads maintenance budget for Northern Ireland. Indeed, we
were the only party to make this case in our Assembly manifesto. The fact that
our warnings have been ignored over recent years has led to the situation in
which we currently find ourselves.
“As an
East Antrim representative, I can say with confidence that a large proportion
of my constituency casework is related to complaints about the service provided
by the Department for Infrastructure, and in particular, roads. Put bluntly,
the current state of repair of our roads network is nothing short of a disgrace,
and has reached the stage where it is endangering public safety.
“In my
response to the Budgetary Outlook paper published just prior to the New Year, I
made the point that the estimated required investment of at least £150M for the
next three years in roads maintenance, needed to be implemented.
“With
the announcement of the allocations being made by the Permanent Secretary of
the Department - in the continuing lamentable absence of a local Minister - it
at least looks like someone was listening.
“In the
short term at least, the news is encouraging in that the roads maintenance
opening baseline budget for 2018/19 is being increased to £75M with £15M being
allocated to a specific roads recovery fund to help mitigate the damage caused
by the severe winter weather and the legacy of underinvestment under the DUP/
Sinn Fein Executive in previous years.
“Guarantees
that the winter service, street lighting repairs and two grass cuts will be
budgeted for in this incoming year are also to be welcomed. I would however
caution that this cannot just be a one-year fix. Am effective roads
maintenance regime needs sustained investment and it requires a policy driven
by an accountable Minister and a functioning Assembly at Stormont.
That things have been allowed to get so bad stands as yet another indictment of
the failure of the DUP and Sinn Fein in government.”
ENDS
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