Debate contribution: Investment Strategy for Northern Ireland
Debate contribution by Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly on .
- MLA
- Mrs Emma Little-Pengelly
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 7 September 2026
- Type
- Debate contribution (made as a minister)
- Business
- Oral Answers to Questions
- Heading
- Investment Strategy for Northern Ireland
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5669802
Read the official Assembly record
Text
The Sinn Féin Infrastructure Minister has made it clear that there are number of projects, including the Enniskillen bypass, that are paused and postponed, waiting for the outcome of this case. Those are the real-life impacts of the climate change legislation interacting with plans on big infrastructure. To me, that is not good enough. We must have the ability to move forward. We look to other jurisdictions. The Republic of Ireland has moved forward with legislation to exclude key infrastructure from the implications of its climate change legislation; yet, here in Northern Ireland, we still have dithering and delay by those who could take those actions that could unlock that capital infrastructure and enable the investment strategy to be amended and released. We have to have balance in this. We cannot simply have virtue signalling around climate change and everything else, should that be a road, a hospital or a school, that is vital for the delivery of public services being delayed. What does delay cause? It will cause billions of pounds of increased costs over the next 10 years if we do not get this right. My call is for people to act quickly and get on and amend to allow those important projects to go ahead.
208 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Awaiting analysis
This record has not been analysed yet. It is not counted in any total until it has been assessed.
Disagree with this assessment?
Classifications can be challenged. A person reviews every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.