We will deliver the A5 and A6 by 2021: Ó Muilleoir

Finance Minister Máirtín Ó Muilleoir says the Executive will deliver the A5 and A6 roads projects during the current Assembly mandate.

The newly-incumbent Minister, now holding the Executive purse strings, made the remarkable commitment on Monday.

Referring to the budget for the A5, he said: “I am confident that if we do not spend that money this year for different reasons, especially if they relate to the Planning Appeals Commission’s public inquiry, that it will be spent in this mandate. That is a bold statement: we will deliver the A5 and A6 in this mandate.”

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SDLP MLA Mark Durkan speaking during the same sitting expressed cautious optimism regarding the critical infrastructure.

“I am very pleased to see the commitment to the A6 and A5, but I am a wee bit cautious that these much-needed and much-welcomed projects will face further delays down the road,” he said.

Mr Ó Muilleoir’s party colleague Daithí McKay insisted “rural communities need to be assured that big projects such as the A5 and the A6 are not going to be delivered at their expense”.