Analysis in progress: 97,637 of 97,960 records assessed (99.7%). Totals and rankings will change until it finishes. Progress details
Mr John O'Dowd: Assembly records
All of Mr John O'Dowd’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not flagged, uncertain or not yet analysed.
Following Executive agreement on 2 October 2024, I announced my decision to proceed with the length of this vital flagship scheme that runs between the south of Strabane and Ballygawley, which is 55 kilometres of its 85 kilometre total. On 13 November, the Department received a formal legal challenge to my decision.…
It is important that the Department work in tandem with councils on their local development plans so that we recognise councils' plans for development in their area and so that councils know what the Department's plans are through the eastern transport plan. The transport plan, when published, will take into account…
My Department is undertaking a consultation on the active travel delivery plan. I encourage Members and members of the public to engage with it. A number of public events are taking place, and there is an opportunity for members of the public and elected representatives to respond online. Members know their local area…
Taxis form part of the public transport network, and taxi services are the part of that network that allows customers to travel from door to door. We have opened up the transport links in and around Grand Central station in particular, so it is important that we ensure that part of our public transport system is…
The eastern transport plan is one of eight local transport plans that my Department is developing in parallel with each council's local development plan (LDP) process. The eastern transport plan is the largest of the local plans and covers the five councils of Antrim and Newtownabbey, Ards and North Down, Belfast…
I do not have a list of the junctions in front of me, but the A1 junctions phase 2 scheme aims to provide further safety improvements along the A1 dual carriageway between Hillsborough and Loughbrickland. I am more than happy to provide the Member with the detail that she requires.
If the Member wishes to write to me about her constituent's experience, I will be more than happy to receive that correspondence and take a look at it. That would be important. As the Member says, I announced this morning that the second stage invitation for tenders will take place in spring 2025, following the…
There is no legal impediment to the Department continuing the works on the A5. That is the process that we will now commence. The cost of delays to the A5 going beyond next spring will run to tens of millions of pounds, not to mention the road safety implications of continuing delays. My Department will proceed within…
Planned works will proceed. There is no legal injunction to prevent us moving ahead with planned works, and, given the cost of delay to that project, it is only right and prudent that we move ahead as planned.
I assure the Member that I am acutely aware of the importance of the application and the upcoming major event that is being planned. However, all planning applications have to be given a fair and equal hearing, and that is exactly what is happening with that application.
The matter has, understandably, been raised with me on several occasions. My officials are working their way through the application, and, when they are in a position to make a recommendation to me, they will do so.
The Member will be aware that we are now engaged in legal proceedings with the company that was providing the equipment to Mallusk and Hydebank. I hope that those legal proceedings will be resolved as soon as possible, and we will then have a greater indication of the capacity in the system. The Member is right: it…
I expect that, by early spring of next year, the measures that I have taken on exemptions will have had their full impact and we will therefore see a significant reduction in the delays in people receiving their MOT dates. There are still delays in some areas. My mailbox on the issue has significantly reduced over the…
Yes, it will be an important document. The consultation process that we will enter into will map out our road and transport network for the next 20-odd years, maybe more. It is vital. I understand Members' anticipation as they wait for it, so I will do my best to bring it forward as soon as possible.
I hope to come before the House to do that in the early part of the next calendar year. As the Member heard me say earlier, a number of plans are afoot. Plans are going through development in a number of areas across the North. I hope to be in a position to come forward with a plan in the early part of next year.
Yes. I have said in the Chamber many times that 95% of road traffic collisions are a result of human error by a driver, a pedestrian, a cyclist or whomever the road user is. Human error leads to 95% of road traffic collisions. I appeal to anyone who comes across a stationary school bus, whether it is on a rural or…
There have been no further policy developments, but we will look at the issue as we work our way through road safety improvements. Drivers should be aware that, under the Highway Code, I believe, they should not pass a stationary school bus. If we need to strengthen the legislation on it, however, we should look at…
There is a long-standing policy on the roads that the Department does and can grit within the time frame and the finances that it has available. I am more than happy to share the criteria with the Member. If she believes that the road in question meets those criteria, she should raise that when she discusses the crash…
My officials are more than happy to engage with the Member on that and discuss the road safety implications in the area and how best to deal with them.
The actual term used in the Audit Office report is "encourage". There is no formal recommendation in the Audit Office report; it encourages NI Water and me to proceed with a review. If a Member or anyone comes forward to me with fresh information that would lead to an expert-led panel dealing with new information on…
I am confident that, with the Executive working together and seeking solutions to problems, rather than simply highlighting them, we can be successful in fulfilling our ambition and plan to deliver that number of homes over the next number of years. NI Water, like all public services, faces significant challenges. It…
Let us see what we have done in recent months. I provided NI Water with over £500 million of funding, which is 40% of the non-ring-fenced budget of my Department. In recent weeks, during the October monitoring round, I secured an extra £32 million for NI Water. I secured agreement from the Executive about a…
With your permission, Mr Deputy Speaker, I will answer questions 9 and 10 together, and, if appropriate, I ask for some extra time to do so. I noted the Comptroller and Auditor General's report on the funding of water infrastructure, which was published earlier this year. My Department carried out considerable work on…
My Department's role in coastal defences is the protection of my Department's property. That may include roads and other areas. That is my Department's role in coastal flood defences. There has been some engagement with Minister Muir — there is no doubt that that engagement will continue — and others in the Executive…