SDLP Fairer Infrastructure Spokesperson, Mark H Durkan MLA has delivered a scathing assessment of the Executive’s latest budget, warning that it fails to tackle the spiralling crisis in the North’s infrastructure and wider public services.
Speaking in the Assembly on Tuesday, the MLA for Foyle stated: “Let’s begin where the cracks are most visible; our crumbling roads. It’s unforgivable that 70% of our road network is now rated ‘poor or very poor.’
“In Foyle alone, a 1km stretch of the Strand Road has had over 400 pothole repairs. Yet the department for Infrastructure advised that it still doesn’t warrant resurfacing.
“The Strategic Road Maintenance Plan recommends £143 million per year to keep roads in a steady state. That figure hasn’t been met once in over a decade.
“Meanwhile, compensation claims for damage caused by poor road conditions have soared to £25 million over the past five years. The cost of doing nothing isn’t zero, it’s rising into the millions.
“The budget also failure to invest in wastewater infrastructure, despite clear warnings from NI Water that the system is at breaking point. Without urgent upgrades, housing development will grind to a halt and pollution levels will rise.
“How can we solve the housing crisis when developments are stalled by inadequate infrastructure. This isn’t just bad planning but bad governance.
“Earlier this year, the SDLP proposed a motion to deliver Infrastructure Commission, designed to tackle a £3 billion capital overspend. Again workable solutions aren’t being considered.
“Instead, the Executive squabbles over issues like £150k Irish language signage at Grand Central Station. Selective outrage is cheap. What’s expensive is the dysfunction being ignored.
“On public transport, the picture is just as bleak.
“One in five rural bus services have been cut, fares are up, and investment is lagging.
“In Derry, Sunday rail services remain stuck at just six per day, while nearby Coleraine runs 14; a glaring example of regional imbalance.
“We can’t keep asking people to leave the car at home if the public transport isn’t there to take them anywhere. And we can’t fight back against climate change without harnessing the opportunities of public transport.
“The Opposition is calling for targeted investment in maintenance over vanity projects, a fairer distribution of resources and bold reform to end the cycle of delay and dysfunction.
“The Executive talks about ‘doing what matters most’ but this budget shows they don’t know or care to know, what that is.”
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