Committee Condemns Previous Minister and Department Over Belfast Rapid Transit Failures

The Committee for Regional Development has today expressed its disappointment at the announcement that the Belfast Rapid Transit (BRT) project will be delayed by a year. Committee members condemned the previous Minister and the Department for Regional Development on the complete absence of communication with the Committee over the project delay.

Speaking after today’s Committee meeting, Chairperson of the Committee, Trevor Clarke MLA, stated: “The Members and I are extremely disappointed at this delay, given our public and private support for Belfast Rapid Transit. This is another example of the Department’s incompetence, following criticism from the Northern Ireland Audit Office and the Major Projects Authority of the Cabinet Office. The Committee is also unhappy that the supplier was advised in April of the likelihood of the delay by the previous Minister in May; a report was published in August but this Committee was ignored until the middle of September. This is, unfortunately, another example of the former Minister, Danny Kennedy MLA and his Department denying the Committee its statutory scrutiny role.”

ENDS

Committee Membership:
The Chairperson of the Committee is Trevor Clarke MLA
The Deputy Chairperson is Sean Lynch MLA

The Committee has a further nine members:
Adrian Cochrane-Watson MLA
John Dallat MLA
Alex Easton MLA
Claire Hanna MLA
Chris Lyttle MLA
Declan McAleer MLA
David McNarry MLA
Stephen Moutray MLA
Cathal Ó hOisín MLA