The Northern Ireland Conservatives have welcomed the fact that the Executive remains committed to improving the A8 road between Belfast to Larne. However local chairman, Irwin Armstrong, criticised the decision not to reallocate £330 million which will be spent on the A5 between Londonderry and Ballygawley, calling the project a “white elephant, motivated by political considerations, rather than benefits to Northern Ireland”.
“The fact that money will be found to upgrade the road between Belfast and Larne, as well as the A2 between Carrickfergus and Belfast, is certainly welcome news, after the Republic of Ireland government cut back its contribution to infrastructure improvement”, Irwin said. “Why a scaled back version of the A5 upgrade has been revived, despite all the evidence that it is not needed, will baffle many people. Especially now that Danny Kennedy, the Regional Development Minister, appears to be championing the scheme.”
“The UUP’s last manifesto demanded ‘an urgent review’ of DRD’s commitment to the A5, which it described as a ‘road between Donegal and Dublin’. 56% of this infrastructure money is now devoted to a scheme with very doubtful benefits to the Northern Ireland economy, which will decimate some of our richest farmland, yet the minister is now fully on board.”
“The A5 proposal has, from its inception, been pushed by Sinn Féin for nakedly political reasons. It offers very few benefits to the Northern Ireland economy, but the DUP was prepared to agree. It appears that this grubby carve-up now extends to the DRD minister. That’s hugely disappointing for the people of Northern Ireland, who could have had better value for money out of this spend, and for many UUP voters, who thought that they were voting for something other than the Sinn Féin / DUP carve-up.”
ENDS