Debate contribution: A5 Western Transport Corridor Scheme

Debate contribution by Mr Peter McReynolds on 22 September 2025.

MLA

Mr Peter McReynolds

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

22 September 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Opposition Business

Heading

A5 Western Transport Corridor Scheme

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5123509

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I speak today as an Alliance Party spokesperson on infrastructure, as chair of the all-party group on road safety and as someone with family members who use the A5 daily. Since becoming an MLA in 2022, I have met a number of families who have, sadly, lost loved ones on our roads. Each family still carries the pain of that loss. It is obvious that there were major failings in the Department's evidence to the High Court. That surprised me at the time, to be honest, given the delays that I was seeing across other DFI areas because, I was advised, all resources were being thrown at the A5 case to ensure a positive result. All the while, the question that colleagues and I have kept asking ourselves is this: since the announcement of the scheme 20-odd years ago, what major road safety improvements have there actually been along that stretch of road? To this day, sadly, we have lost over 50 lives, and I am not aware of any significant, tangible interim solutions having been introduced. Perhaps the Minister can speak to that point in her remarks later. Instead, we have waited on an upgrade that, 20 years later, has not happened. Just last week, during Question Time, I asked the Infrastructure about steps that her Department can take to improve road safety in general, but specific measures can also be taken along that particular road. As the chair of the all-party group on road safety, I am acutely aware of the dangers of the road. We regularly meet Chief Superintendent Sam Donaldson, who consistently highlights the fact that no road is a safe road, but that does not mean that there is nothing that we can do to make the A5 safer. Speed cameras, speed limits and road signage can make road users more aware of their driving, with the goal being to reduce injuries and fatalities overall. Those things may not fix every issue or prevent every tragedy, but they can contribute to reducing their numbers. We need to address the dangers of the A5 now, not wait another decade for it to be completed. Such a sensitive topic should not be used to unpick climate change legislation, given that, on two previous occasions, the A5 upgrade's being paused by a court ruling was not down to the Climate Change Act. Indeed, Judge McAlinden made clear in his judgement that the Climate Change Act does not prevent large infrastructure projects but requires evidence of their planning and coordination to ensure that they meet the requirements of the Act. The way forward is not to go back on climate change law but to hold to account those who have not done their due diligence and ask why potential issues were not addressed in the first place.

I am just concluding. Sorry. The families deserve more than finger-pointing and the blame game. They deserve real solutions as we work towards a safer A5 and the positives that can come from that.

502 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:12 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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