Andrew Muir has revealed that his officials met their counterparts from the Department for Infrastructure (DfI) no fewer than seven times to discuss the potential impact of climate legislation on the latest plans to build the A5.
The High Court ruled in June that the £1.7bn project could not go-ahead as planned because it failed to comply with Stormont’s climate change targets.
It was the latest in a series of setbacks for the road on which more than 50 people have died since 2006 when an upgrade was first scheduled to begin.
The failure of DFI officials not to adequately address climate change considerations on foot of the meetings with their Daera counterparts has been described as “inconceivable”.
The court’s ruling prompted calls for the climate legislation to be amended, while those who opposed it in the assembly in 2022 claim they have been vindicated over warnings about its impact.
Land vested along the A5 route following the announcement of the road’s go-ahead by the then infrastructure minister John O’Dowd in October last year has since been handed back.
Sinn Féin Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins said earlier this month that she would be “pursuing” an appeal to the court ruling which will require the approval of the Stormont executive.
In correspondence seen by The Irish News, Agriculture and Environment Minister Andrew Muir reveals that between December 2023 and May last year, his officials met with DfI on seven occasions to assist the latter “in the preparation of their response to the climate related recommendations made by the Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) which referred to my department”.
ngagement with DfI was “to articulate the factual and legal position around emission targets, carbon budgets and the Climate Action Plan”.
Inhouse gas emissions, and an “inadequacy of information for the purpose of lawful decision making”.
In a letter to SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone, Mr Muir said the nature of his officials’ engagement with DfI was “to articulate the factual and legal position around emission targets, carbon budgets and the Climate Action Plan”.
The failure of DFI officials not to adequately address climate change considerations on foot of the meetings with their Daera counterparts has drawn criticism from Mr McGlone’s party colleague, Daniel McCrossan.
“It is inconceivable that despite meeting several times to discuss climate targets and the Climate Action Plain in relation to the A5 project that the previous Minister and the department did not take this into consideration when bringing forward plans for the project, leaving them open to legal challenge and the situation we now find ourselves in,” the West Tyrone representative said.
“This latest delay is a result of gross incompetence and we have still not heard what the minister intends to do about it. People in this area are angry that their lives and the lives of their loved ones are being put at risk every day while they travel on this dangerous road.”
Mr McCrossan urged the minster to “immediately” lodge an appeal against the court ruling “alongside steps to address the judge’s concerns so that we can get on with building this road”.
A DfI spokesperson confirmed there was “regular engagement” with Daera officials to consider the PAC’s recommendations.
“In making his ruling the Judge accepted that DfI did its very best to assure itself that, when it is finished the road will not stop it making progress towards the goal of decarbonising the transport sector by 2050. He also said in his judgement that departments did speak to each other on this issue,” DfI said.
“But the most important point made by the judge was the need for a new and safer A5 dual carriageway – so that no other name is added to the long list of those who have died on the existing road. Now those of us who also agree that the new A5 is needed should work together to ensure this life-saving road is built.”
by kharma45
7 comments
The DfI have been perfectly capable of getting various other projects done since the A5 was suggested.
At this point it’s perfectly reasonable to conclude the DfI is fucking it up deliberately because they have institutional resistance to the project.
Every Grade 5 and above should be stuck on gardening leave immediately, have all access revoked, and a team come in to secure all the correspondence. Recruit a whole new management favouring candidates from outside NI. Run an investigation into all previous internal decision processes and start a public inquiry if deemed necessary.
Just my two cents as a taxpayer like.
Incompetence, at this time of year, at this time of day, on this part of the planet, localised entirely within this country?
Incompetence or malice. Either way it demonstrates to outsiders that NI is a shithole not to be invested in. Just pissing away hundreds of millions for fuck all.
Oh look more incompetence from a NI government department
Fun fact.
Know of a farmer who’s losing / lost 50 or so acres as part of this. Given they started the works, part of the land was bulldozed and cleared ready, fenced off, trees cleared etc.
Then, after the “climate” ruling, it was all halted.
Clearly, the sunk cost of climate impacts to bulldozing a section is irrelevant.
And now that it’s now halted for the 3rd time, it looks likely he will be paid by us the taxpayer to reseed and recommission parts of the ground as farmland again, same as the previous 2 times. Fantastic!
Should note, he’s not one of the people standing in the way, very pro the new road.
Mental, true what others are saying. Hard to not think given the above. That they don’t want it to go ahead.
When is either the minister in charge or their civil servants going to accept responsibility for wasting over 100 million of tax payers money with nothing to show for it?
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