Rail Minister‘unsighted’

The Minister admitted he had been ‘unsighted’ by the big announcement earlier this month and that he had not been asked about installing a rail halt at Ballykelly to facilitate the new workforce expected to descend on the village.

DUP MLA George Robinson asked the Minister: “Given the very welcome news of the relocation of DARD’s headquarters to Ballykelly, which we both lobbied for, does the Minister agree that a halt would benefit the new potential workforce and the wider local community?”

He added: “It would be beneficial if some money could be found and a request from the DARD Minister were forthcoming.”

But incredibly the Rail Minister said he knew nothing about the decentralisation until it was announced.

He said: “I am grateful to the Member for his supplementary question and his interest in this particular issue. I have clearly outlined that both me and my Department were unsighted by Minister O’Neill’s announcement of the relocation of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. We have not had any conversations or correspondence, to the best of our knowledge, on the issue. If such a request is made, of course we will seek to co-operate.”