Debate contribution: North/South Ministerial Council: Transport

Debate contribution by Ms Liz Kimmins on 1 June 2026.

MLA

Ms Liz Kimmins

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

1 June 2026

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Ministerial Statement

Heading

North/South Ministerial Council: Transport

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5580844

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle.

In compliance with section 52 of the NI Act 1998, I wish to make the following statement on the meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) in transport sectoral format that was held on Thursday 7 May 2026 in Dublin. I attended the twenty-sixth North/South Ministerial Council transport meeting in my capacity as Minister for Infrastructure, alongside Darragh O'Brien TD, Minister for Transport, who chaired the meeting, and Mike Nesbitt MLA, Minister of Health. The statement has been agreed with Minister Nesbitt, and I am making it on behalf of both of us. Ministers received a joint presentation from officials from both Departments on the cross-border greenways feasibility study and heard about potential opportunities for progressing cross-border greenways through route reviews, stakeholder engagement and reviews of similar infrastructure projects. The Council welcomed the announcement by the Government of Ireland in November 2025 of €2 million in Shared Island funding to support the development of cross-border greenways. Ministers noted that the Department for Infrastructure's appeal against the June 2025 High Court ruling on the A5 is ongoing in the Court of Appeal. The Council acknowledged that both Administrations remain committed to the delivery of the A5. The NSMC agreed that both Administrations should continue to work collaboratively to progress the A5, Donegal Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T) and N2 road infrastructure projects through existing forums, such as the cross-border working group, which is considering the practical aspects of the delivery of the tie-in between the A5 and the N2 Clontibret to the border project. Ministers received an update on the joint work to deliver the all-island strategic rail review and the subsequent rail project prioritisation strategy, including details on the identified early interventions for major projects and how those will be progressed in future. The Council welcomed the publication of the rail project prioritisation strategy and affirmed that both Administrations will continue to work together to progress it. Ministers agreed to identify an optimal means of cooperation in order to help deliver on the recommendations of the prioritisation strategy and the rail review, such as through establishing a cross-border working group or expanding the remit of existing governance structures projects. Ministers welcomed the Irish Government's initial allocation in November 2025 through the Shared Island Fund and the progression of the market-sounding exercise in December 2025 to advance the Programme for Government (PFG) commitment to establish air connectivity between Dublin Airport and City of Derry Airport. The Council welcomed the approval by both jurisdictions in February 2026 of the joint final business case for the Enterprise fleet replacement programme and the ceremonial signing of the contract for the purchase of the new fleet of eight trains for the flagship Belfast to Dublin Enterprise service. Ministers noted that the mini-tender process for the Shared Island sports club EV charging infrastructure scheme has made significant progress, with several grant agreements having been issued. The NSMC noted the findings of the jointly led transport biodiversity workshop, which identified the potential for transport corridors to be connected to ecological corridors in order to support the restoration of biodiversity. Ministers welcomed the progress that has been made as a result of the Belfast to Dublin hydrogen refuelling study, which is currently developing two business cases to support the assessment of options for demonstrator stations. The Council noted the work being done in both jurisdictions on emissions modelling and decarbonisation planning, as well as the intention to continue knowledge exchange and collaboration in that regard. The Council welcomed the information-sharing session that took place in March 2026 between officials who are working in sustainable mobility and climate-related areas to share information on current work streams and to identify potential areas for future collaboration. The NSMC noted that Departments will continue to engage on the development and implementation of relevant plans and strategies, such as the transport strategy 2035, the national sustainable mobility policy action plan and the Moving Together strategy. Ministers agreed that officials will continue to participate in further information-sharing sessions, addressing themes of mutual significance. The NSMC agreed that road safety is a key priority for both Administrations and welcomed the ongoing engagement on road-user safety between officials from both Departments. It noted that road safety officials will continue to engage on the implementation of road safety action plans, including any lessons learned that will help inform the development of future plans. Ministers agreed to explore opportunities for greater collaboration and coordination in order to raise awareness, particularly of driver behaviours such as speeding, intoxicated driving, distracted driving and seat belt wearing. The Council noted that details of road safety campaigns for 2026 will be shared and that a communications workshop to explore opportunities for collaboration will be held by the end of June 2026. It agreed to explore opportunities further for the alignment of road safety messaging in future years, where appropriate and where such opportunities arise. The Council agreed to hold its next meeting in transport sectoral format in winter 2026. My officials and I look forward to working with the Minister for Transport and his officials on all areas of cooperation across the sector.

It is a bit of a stretch to link that issue to the statement. However, I will give it a go. Look: road conditions have been well discussed at this stage. I have set out very clearly the work that I am doing with officials to improve those conditions and make a difference that will actually have a lasting impact. I am really sorry to hear that a constituent has had that experience. Nobody wants that situation. Everybody should be safe on our roads regardless of whether it is to do with the condition of the roads. The road safety issues that we are talking about today relate to driver behaviour and put a key focus on the issues that we know are the main causes of road deaths and serious injuries as a result of road collisions. Road conditions are a separate issue to what we are talking about today. I have set out very clearly to the House on numerous occasions, and to the Committee in response to correspondence, what we are trying to do about road maintenance within a very constrained budget. We are trying to make really good progress. We are seeing progress and roads being resurfaced, albeit not at the pace that I would like. I can do only what I can with the resources that I have. However, I am determined that we will make a real difference and that, this time next year, we will be in a better position than we have been in for some time.

I am fairly sure that I have answered that question already as well. I said that very clearly when we received the disappointing High Court ruling on the A5 in 2025. That is well on the record. At this time, my focus is on the appeal, as we are in the thick of it at the minute. That is the quickest route to resolving the three grounds that were challenged in the ruling last year. At all stages, however, I have said that we will continue to look at all other options that will get the road built. My priority is getting the road built and the quickest way to get that done because, ultimately, it is about saving lives. That is what I am committed to doing. We will focus on the appeal, but we are looking at everything to see what else can be done in the event of an unsuccessful outcome. My view is that we need to win that appeal.

Absolutely. Thankfully, they have said that they are absolutely committed to their funding part. As the Member will know, the A5 is ring-fenced as an Executive flagship project. The commitment from the Irish Government is to part fund the project by around €600 million. As I said in my previous answer, my focus at this time is to get the appeal concluded with a successful outcome so that we can get on with the work, hopefully sooner rather than later.

As the Member will know, we have just closed the speed limit review consultation. We hope to be able to publish the outcome of that fairly soon. That is a key area, particularly when we look at residential areas around schools. I have made my view very clear that we should see a lower speed limit in those areas. We have seen the success of the temporary 20 mph zones outside schools. That can really improve road safety. As well as that, officials are looking at drink-driving legislation and drink-driving limits. That work is ongoing. I hope to be able to update Members as we get through it.

There are positive discussions around that. The Government in the South are really keen as well, and we continue to work with our colleagues in the Department of Transport. It has secured support from the European Investment Bank (EIB) advisory service to help progress the implementation of the recommendations of the all-island strategic rail review. As the Member will know, the project prioritisation strategy was published in December. Both Departments are building on their positive working relationships to explore additional interdepartmental working groups that can work collaboratively to achieve the recommendations of the rail review. Collaboration continues on the Enterprise service as well. The Irish Government's allocated Shared Island funding supported the introduction of the new hourly Enterprise service that commenced in October 2024. Officials are engaging extensively with their counterparts in the South and the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) on the progress of the Enterprise fleet replacement project, which we signed the contract for just last month. The investments will improve the experience of people travelling by train. The greater frequency and capacity will encourage others to use those services. It will make it even easier for people to connect and make greener transport choices, which will bring economic and social benefits for us all. We continue to work on that and on how we can progress at pace. There is a real appetite to see delivery of the all-island rail review in full, and I have outlined the prioritisation within that.

As I have said, we continue to work with our counterparts in the South to ensure that we have the capacity and capability to jointly progress the rail review. At the same time, we need to continue to work collectively to ensure that we get support from the Executive so that a credible, long-term funding strategy is developed and agreed. That will be key to making the progress that we all hope to see. The project prioritisation strategy, which I mentioned in my previous response, was a summary report of the main findings from feasibility studies on the four major projects: the Antrim to Lisburn link, with a link to Belfast International Airport; the Portadown to Armagh line; the Portadown to Derry line; and the electrification of the line between Belfast and the border. That was published on 17 December last year. The report outlines a vision for the future development of the rail network in the North and aligns with the ambitions of the all-island rail review. The findings provide a case for investment in a modern and sustainable rail network, subject to the availability of capital and resource funding. Part of the wider network vision is to double the number of rail passengers through improved network accessibility, enhanced regional connectivity and reduced interurban journey times. As I have said in the House before, I have provided £1 million of additional funding in the last financial year to maintain the momentum on those strategic projects. Delivering the four projects alongside a shift towards rail travel — we see more and more people really wanting to use rail services — will unlock significant benefits for the North and on an all-island basis. We see the growth in numbers. Completion of the feasibility studies is a critical first milestone in defining the projects and their viability. However, progressing all or any of the projects will require significant funding that has not already been allocated, and we will be subject to future budget availability. We continue to work with our colleagues in the South to find out how we can fund the projects, because we all agree that we need to realise the progress from the review and get on with it as best we can.

I will not comment on those legal proceedings, as we are in the middle of the appeal. I will not, however, take lectures from the DUP, whose Ministers have taken it on themselves to intervene in many legal cases, with Grand Central station being one. I will leave it at that. My focus is on winning the appeal and ensuring that we get the road built. I appreciate that the Member has put forward some suggestions, but we are appealing on three grounds, and that suggestion does not resolve all of them.

The Member will be aware that I have committed to provide funding to support the development and delivery of cross-border greenways that are being taken forward under the Shared Island Fund for greenways, including an allocation of £126,000 last year to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council to support geotechnical survey work on the northern section of the Sligo-Enniskillen greenway and £400,000 over the next two years towards early development of a number of other potential schemes. Further funding allocations will be subject to the submission and consideration of individual project business cases. The Member will be aware of the successful Carlingford lough greenway, which was recently completed. It has been transformative. We know that they are really important projects that bring so much not only for the local economy but for tourism, health and all of that. I want to continue to make progress in this key area. We also continue to explore the Sligo-Enniskillen greenway, which I mentioned; the Ulster canal greenway; Lifford to Derry via Carrigans village; Derry to Buncrana; Lifford to Derry on the River Foyle's east bank; and Warrenpoint to Newcastle via Kilkeel, which is, obviously, in the Member's constituency.

It was welcome that both jurisdictions were able to approve the joint final business case for the Enterprise fleet replacement programme and to have the ceremonial signing of the contract last month for the purchase for a new fleet of eight trains for the flagship Belfast-Dublin Enterprise service. For me, it is a momentous opportunity for public transport, particularly for that significant route between Belfast and Dublin and that economic corridor. It is transformative. The cross-border investment of almost £560 million, over £200 million of which comes from my Department, underlines my commitment to improving public transport. It is an exciting time. Grand Central station is the game changer that it promised to be when it opened in autumn 2024. It is fair to say that, when we had our guests down there last month for the signing of the contract, they were absolutely blown away by what they saw. It really is something to be proud of. I look forward to building on that momentum and making sure that we further enhance our rail network for everybody.

2,546 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:42 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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