Debate contribution: Regional Imbalance
Debate contribution by Miss Nicola Brogan on .
- MLA
- Miss Nicola Brogan
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 6 October 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- Regional Imbalance
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5157242
Read the official Assembly record
Text
As a representative for West Tyrone, I am very aware of the damaging effects that regional imbalance has had on services, infrastructure and communities west of the Bann. For generations, indifferent British Governments and Stormont regimes have starved the west of resources and infrastructure, but that tide is turning. Sinn Féin Ministers have made undoing the damage of regional imbalance a key focus of their delivery. As First Minister, Michelle O'Neill ensured that regional balance was a Programme for Government commitment for the Executive. Minister Archibald is carrying on the work of her predecessor, Conor Murphy, who made regional balance one of the four pillars of his Department, and she has built on that foundation, not just with words but with a £45 million regional balance fund that will benefit every council area across the North.
In addition to that, Minister Liz Kimmins has been fighting tooth and nail to ensure the delivery of the A5, which not only represents a massive investment in Counties Tyrone, Derry and Donegal but is a vital piece of national infrastructure that will have significant investment, economic and, most importantly, safety benefits for communities in the north-west of Ireland. Minister Kimmins also announced recently that the A32 Cornamuck project is to progress to the procurement and construction stage. That is an important road for people in my constituency who travel between Omagh and Enniskillen, particularly those trying to reach the South West Acute Hospital. As a member of the Committee for Communities, I share the motion's concerns about the distribution of the football fund. The Committee will continue to scrutinise Minister Lyons on the matter. Given the recent announcement of other sporting and cultural funds from the Department for Communities, I again remind the Minister of the regional balance obligations that his party signed up to as part of the Programme for Government. For a long time, communities in the west just had to accept that, when it came to investment, all that they were going to get was scraps from the table. Times have changed, however, and we will no longer accept that. Sinn Féin is committed to equality, and regional balance is a crucial part of that commitment. That is why our representatives will continue to fight for marginalised communities all over Ireland.
381 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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