Every imported question, contribution and motion, with its classification. Unflagged, uncertain and not-yet-analysed records are all included so the analysis can be checked independently.
First, the increased frequency of the Belfast to Dublin connection and the closure of the three sets of gates in Lurgan could have been better managed earlier in the application process for additional funding for the early service to the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB). Hindsight is a great thing, but, during…
I thank the Minister for his answer. As the Minister is a constituency colleague, he will know that, while the increased frequency on the Belfast to Dublin route is welcome, it has created some local concern in Lurgan about the increased congestion. Will those plans do anything to assuage those concerns?
The new station will replace the one built in the 1970s with a modern, state-of-the-art facility that will provide a greatly needed enhanced passenger experience. It will be fully inclusive and will be a catalyst for future investment in the Lurgan area. It will also promote sustainable transport options and act as an…
They are having an impact, and you can see that in the response times from DFI Rivers. I have made a separate submission to the transformation fund to recruit staff for a number of areas in my Department. They will assist in lowering the response times for planning applications in order to speed up the planning…
Will the Minister outline whether the staff shortages contribute to delays in the planning system, including the progress of housing developments across the region?
As has been said many times in the Chamber by many different Ministers, the austerity of the past 14 years has left a deep scar across our public services. We have not been able to recruit and maintain staff at the level that we would otherwise have achieved. As I said in answer to the original question, I am running…
Last October, when we faced flooding emergencies, we moved staff from various elements of my Department to the direct, front-line emergency response. Following the flooding that we witnessed last year, the Member may recall that Storm Ciarán bore down on us. Thankfully, that storm diverted, and we did not get the…
As I said, my Department has been operating in a difficult financial environment for a number of years. Officials have advised that operating with the current level of vacancies has had an impact on the delivery of some operational flood risk management policy and IT functions. That also impacts on our ability to…
It will hopefully be a mixture. Significant investment is involved in providing the infrastructure needed for Glider routes, such as road widening and improvement and bus stop infrastructure. I will make a definitive statement in the next number of weeks.
Minister, will you be clear about the announcement that you have said that you will make in the coming weeks? Will you proceed with the Glider route or with additional bus routes? Like North Belfast, South Belfast, particularly along the corridor up the Saintfield Road towards Carryduff, is very congested, and air…
I say to the Member that I commit to being hopeful that I will be able to make an announcement in the next number of weeks. Although I would much prefer to undertake the £140 million-odd scheme, I can make significant input into improving public transport options for people in Belfast, north and south, by investing…
I thank the Minister for his answer. Although I appreciate that there are budget constraints, North Belfast is often left behind when it comes to work done to encourage sustainable travel, such as cycling infrastructure and greenways. What can the Minister do in the immediate term to assure people in my constituency…
The estimated cost of the north Belfast to south Belfast Glider route is in the range of £142 million to £148 million. Although £35 million of funding has been secured through the Belfast region city deal, a considerable shortfall of some £110 million remains. Work on the feasibility of extending the route to…
I am not sure. I will ask my private office whether there are records. It may be that there are records for the Strangford constituency or for the council area — they sometimes swap over — but, if they are available, I will ask for them to be shared with the Member.
Minister, I come from a rural area. Street lights make it safer for pedestrians to walk along rural roads. Is there a record that we can access of removed street lights in each area in Northern Ireland?
Each location is judged on its own merits and, as I said, against the departmental policy, which has been in place for a significant number of years. Safety — road safety and pedestrian safety — is one of the characteristics of that policy against which locations are judged. The other thing that we have to be mindful…
To follow on from Mr McHugh's question, the Minister will know that many areas in our rural communities benefit from street lights. Those street lights, in legacy terms, exist because of accident black spots or for community safety reasons. Does the Minister agree that taking those lights away and not replacing them…
As I said in my answer to the substantive question, there has been a significant change in our street lighting over the past number of years. Members of the public will have noticed that, in some areas, street lighting poles and equipment have been removed because they do not fit with the policy that has been in place…
If the Member has any specific areas in mind, he should feel free to contact my private office. I will ensure that they are followed up. Street lighting provides a safer environment for people to use pathways, walkways, active travel routes etc. The Member is right to raise the concerns about safety for women,…
Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as a fhreagra. Does the Minister agree that street lighting plays an integral role, not just in road safety but in community safety? In light of recent events and what we have heard from many women about how unsafe they feel, does the Minister have any plans to improve response times,…
I am pleased to inform the Member that, for the current financial year, I have been able to allocate funding to enable my Department to provide a full street lighting maintenance service, with outage repairs generally being carried out within the established target of five working days. My Department has replaced…
The Dublin Government have been able to subsidise Iarnród Éireann to a higher degree than I have been able to subsidise Translink. They seem to have quite a healthy bank balance and they are able to subsidise public transport to a greater degree than I am. That is the reason for it. Translink is making some…