Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins was under fire in the Assembly today after plans to extend the Glider into North and South Belfast left out Carryduff and Glengormley.
The Sinn Féin MLA was told she has "failed people in Belfast and beyond", as elected rep's reacted to news that the public transport plan is to be scaled back.
Making the announcement in the chamber, Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins informed MLAs that the service would no longer be going to Carryduff or Glengormley.
When asked by Alliance MLA Nuala McAllister where exactly in North Belfast the service would be terminating, the Minister was unable to provide an answer and said that she would come back to Ms McAllister in writing.
Responding to the announcement, DUP MLA for North Belfast Philip Brett said the statement raised more questions than answers and called for urgent clarity.
“The exclusion of Glengormley from the extension of the Belfast Rapid Transport scheme is hugely disappointing, but unfortunately unsurprising, as this was the approach adopted by the previous Sinn Fein Minister," he said.
"What is surprising however, was the Minister’s inability to inform Members of where the proposed termination point will be in North Belfast. This is basic and vital information, which Members need to know, and information that the Minister should know.
"It is bizarre that a 9-page statement wouldn’t include this basic information and is beyond belief that this doesn’t seem to be a question that the Minister had asked during any briefing she received in advance of standing before MLAs.
"The DUP secured the funding for the BRT extension through our delivery of the Belfast City Deal. I will continue to stand with the residents of Glengormley who have been excluded from this vital public transport scheme by Sinn Fein and the DUP will continue to press for the most basic answers to be provided by the Minister.”
SDLP Leader of the Opposition, Matthew O'Toole said that the Executive has "failed people in Belfast and beyond" with the announcement and hit out at news that the Minister now anticipates the main scheme will not be completed until 2030 at the very earliest, delaying the scheme by at least a further two years.
“The Minister’s announcement this morning is deeply disappointing for those living in Carryduff and right across South Belfast. Carryduff is a growing area of nearly 10,000 people, and anyone who travels along the Saintfield Road regularly already know it’s struggling to cope and needs a fast, frequent and reliable public transport alternative," he said.
“The Minister’s admission that she doesn’t expect the scheme, even in its truncated form, to be completed until 2030 is a damning indictment of the lack of urgency in the Executive to deliver. With an Outline Business Case that’s been ‘nearing completion’ since 2022 and no effort made to make up the funding shortfall of £110m, Sinn Féin Ministers continue to gaslight people in Belfast about delivery of this critical scheme.
“It is shameful to see Ministers and other Executive party representatives trumpet this announcement as ‘progress’ when it is exactly the opposite.”
SDLP Castle Councillor Carl Whyte added: “The Minister’s announcement that there will be no expansion of the Glider to anywhere in North Belfast including Glengormley is another example of the neglect that the constituency faces when it comes to getting its fair share of Executive funding for public transport.
"North Belfast will continue to be the only part of the city where all residents will continue to rely on the traditional bus service despite being promised an extended Glider service by Sinn Fein for many years now."
Meanwhile, Green Party leader Mal O'Hara accused Sinn Féin of "lacking ambition" when it comes to public transport.
"Sinn Fein continue to lack ambition on public transport regardless of who they swap into or out of the Ministerial seat. While the Glider expansion is welcome, it was very clear that the public appetite for extending the service to Glengormley was there," he said.
"That the Minister cites 'congestion' in Glengormley centre as a key reason not to expand the Glider shows just how poorly this Executive understands transport. Frequent, reliable and cheap public transport reduces congestion."
Green Party Cllr Aine Groogan added: "This is a short-sighted decision by the Minister for Infrastructure. I'm incredibly frustrated that there is no plan to extend the new glider route to Carryduff, it shows that there continues to be no vision or appetite for transformation amidst the NI Executive.
"We need extensive investment in our public transport system to make up for the years of chronic underfunding. What isn't economically viable is Stormont's failure to grasp that we are in a climate emergency and a public health crisis from air pollution, its nonsensical not to include what is in reality a modest extension to the scheme."
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