Debate contribution: North-west Transport

Debate contribution by Ms Liz Kimmins on 4 March 2025.

MLA

Ms Liz Kimmins

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

4 March 2025

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Opposition Business

Heading

North-west Transport

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4833539

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Deputy Speaker. I thank the Members who tabled the motion. Transport infrastructure for the north-west is an important topic. I very much welcome the debate. I am sure that everybody here aspires to and wants to see the delivery of a thriving north-west. Certainly, I am keen to see that. My predecessor, Minister O'Dowd, and I are committed to achieving regional balance during the mandate. My party has championed that for some time and will continue to do so. It is important to emphasise the huge potential of the north-west region, which has been described here. My job is to ensure that the impediments that have held it back, and continue to do so, are removed and to ensure that it can reach its full potential. As Infrastructure Minister, I see my role as providing the building blocks that support the region's growth. Members have talked about the A6. Over recent years, we have constructed many miles of new dual carriageway on the A6. The recently completed Dungiven to Derry stretch was the North's largest ever road scheme. It provides a much improved link from Derry to Belfast and the gateways along the east coast. It has been transformative for the north-west. However, the Member who spoke previously mentioned the frustration of not being able to compete the phase of works that would connect the A6 through to the A2 and the Foyle Bridge to allow quicker journeys around the city, and I understand that frustration. My officials are working closely with their counterparts in the NIEA and other relevant stakeholders to expedite the remediation of the illegal waste site at Mobuoy. Once DAERA's draft optimum remediation strategy is finalised, my officials will be able to develop a delivery strategy and timeline for the A6 phase 2 project. It is important to connect Derry with Belfast, but equally important is the Derry to Dublin connection via the A5. From an economic perspective, improving connections from Derry to our principal cities makes clear business sense. Of course, the principal factor in all of that is the improvement to make it safer. Too many lives have been lost on the A5, and the upgrade will save lives. The project is vital. I am confident that it will help to transform our social and economic geography by promoting the north-west. As many of you are aware, I am bringing forward a new transport strategy along with a new suite of transport plans. The transport strategy is substantially complete, and I plan to publish it for consultation in the next couple of months. The strategy will set out the vision and my strategic priorities for our transport system through to 2035. It will articulate the role of transport as a social, economic and environmental enabler and establish a set of transport priorities for my Department to deliver against. The regional strategic transport network transport plan will consider the strategic transport network, which includes our railways and the strategic road network.

I thank the Member for her intervention on that. The importance of having Fermanagh as part of that is well recognised, certainly by my colleagues who represent the same constituency as the Member. I hope that, as part of our broader transport plan, we can ensure that Fermanagh is not left behind. It is about looking at how we can improve connectivity right across the island and ensuring that no part of our island is left in isolation. I am keen and happy to continue to work with the Member and other constituency colleagues on that. The remainder of the suite of plans for the north-west transport plan considers the local transport issues, including active travel, public transport, the local road network and parking. The north-west transport plan is one of those and covers the Derry City and Strabane District Council area plus its zone of influence. That plan is not being prepared in isolation; rather, it is an integrated plan that is being developed in close partnership with the council as it brings forward its local development plan in parallel. When we think of Derry, we know that much is happening. We have an expanding university, a central riverfront and the Walled City regeneration project. My officials are working with colleagues in the Department for the Economy on the expansion of Magee university to maximise the benefits and establish a structured programme of continuous engagement with local residents and community groups. When considering local transport in the district, active travel needs to be the first choice for shorter journeys. I realise that that is not practical for everyone or for journeys that are slightly longer, and the role that buses play has to increase. They are the key to moving people efficiently and effectively within and between Derry and Strabane and their satellite settlements, many of which, it is important to remember, are in County Donegal. I am not naive to the financial pressures that are faced, but I recognise buses as the solution to achieving more sustainable transport. The riverfront city deal project, which the council initially led, is starting to reallocate city centre road space to buses and active travel. I am determined that the north-west transport plan will build on that, creating a cleaner and greener environment. Derry already has the first citywide fully zero-emission bus fleet. I am committed to providing a frequent city service and to having the infrastructure to improve reliability so that buses will not be snarled up in traffic as a result of our giving them more priority to allow for sensibly planned routes and timetables. Peter McReynolds and his colleague asked about the publication of the north-west transport plan. Officials are working closely with Derry City and Strabane District Council and other stakeholders on its development. An early engagement exercise was completed on 5 November, with 92 responses received. That engagement sought to gather the public's views about the transport needs in their area and on the draft vision and objectives of the transport plan. My officials are working through that feedback and will apply it as they prepare the draft plan. As I said, the plan will cover a raft of local transport issues and will provide the most detail in Derry and Strabane. It will also consider other local transport issues across the district, and I intend to publish that draft north-west transport plan for public consultation later this year. Rail infrastructure projects often take many years to develop and design before construction begins. A large proportion of my Department's staff are engineers, and I am reminded that many infrastructure projects constructed in the 19th century are still part of the fabric of Ireland, offering a return year-on-year for generation after generation. I am very conscious about the decisions that I make today, as they will have impacts on our children, grandchildren and those in many generations to come. Rail is best suited to longer-distance journeys that are on higher-demand corridors. The all-island strategic rail review has considered that and has come up with recommendations that offer an exciting proposition for sustainable travel. Having not constructed new railways in the North for more than a century, the rail review brings a level of anticipation, but it is also important to recognise that those projects will take time.

The strategic review was prepared jointly with my counterpart in the South and looks towards a 2050 horizon. Feasibility studies are being prepared on several of the corridors recommended by the review. Those studies are due to report in the spring and will include a look at a new Portadown to Derry rail link. At last week's meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council, I had the opportunity to discuss the review with my counterpart in the South, Minister O'Brien. We are committed to working together to deliver on the recommendations.

I thank the Member for that question. I have had briefings with officials on the review. It is a very ambitious plan, but there is so much opportunity for delivery. As has come up in every discussion — not just those relating to my Department but those relating to other Departments — it can be difficult to plan, given the financial constraints and particularly given that we are operating with annual Budgets. We are, however, looking at all options available to us, including the Shared Island Fund and other external funding opportunities, to see how we can deliver. We are being realistic and managing expectations. Those are the conversations that I am having with my counterparts. Last week, I met representatives from the Rail Industry Association (RIA) who had come over from Scotland. That was a very important conversation because it underlined the importance of having a plan and recognising that we cannot do everything all at once. If we can do things in phases as funding becomes available, that will help us to recruit and retain the required staff. That is the scoping that we are doing at the minute. I do not have specifics around funding.

OK. Apologies. Thank you.

1,509 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:06 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

Disagree with this assessment?

Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.

Challenge this classification