Alliance Infrastructure spokesperson Andrew Muir MLA has welcomed the Infrastructure Minister’s decision to extend the consultation deadline for the review of the planning system. The Department for Infrastructure is required by law to hold a review of the 2011 Planning Act, which saw major reform of the planning system. A Call for Evidence was opened last […]
Alliance Finance spokesperson Andrew Muir MLA has expressed concern following an announcement from Ulster Bank it is to close its operations in the Republic of Ireland. Ulster Bank’s business in Northern Ireland will continue to trade but jobs may be at risk. Mr Muir said it was a real blow. “The decision to withdraw from […]
Alliance Infrastructure spokesperson Andrew Muir MLA has urged the Infrastructure Minister to get a move on, after it emerged she has still not received and reviewed a report already compiled by her officials on the benefits of residents’ parking schemes. In April 2018, the Department for Infrastructure ran a trial residents’ parking scheme in South […]
Alliance Infrastructure Spokesperson, Andrew Muir MLA, has called for the Department for Infrastructure to formally scrap plans for building Smart motorways in Northern Ireland. In an “all-lane smart motorway”, the hard shoulder is converted into a live-lane and replaced by refuge points or laybys spaced out alongside the motorway. Smart motorways already exist in England, […]
Alliance Infrastructure spokesperson MLA has welcomed an increase in the fine and penalty points awarded to drivers who are caught using a hand-held mobile phone while driving. Mr Muir was speaking after the Assembly moved to increase the number of penalty points awarded from three to six and the fine from £60 to £200 – […]
Alliance representatives have welcomed the go-ahead for phase two of the A1 dual carriageway improvement scheme. The project will address safety issues at junctions along an over 15-mile stretch of the road between Hillsborough and Loughbrickland. The route, one of the busiest in Northern Ireland, has seen a number of fatal accidents over the past […]
Alliance Infrastructure spokesperson Andrew Muir MLA has criticised the Department for Infrastructure (DFI) for handing back £1 million it has been unable to spend on road resurfacing projects. At this week’s Infrastructure Committee meeting, officials from DFI told MLAs £1 million of capital money was being returned by the Department due to reduced capacity to […]
Alliance Infrastructure and Finance spokesperson has welcomed news the Infrastructure Minister will bring proposals for a second financial assistance scheme for taxi drivers to an Executive meeting tomorrow. Mr Muir, along with other members of the Infrastructure Committee, had raised concerns with the Minister that the initial support scheme for taxi drivers excluded those who […]
Alliance Finance and Infrastructure spokesperson, Andrew Muir MLA, has said he’s disappointing that more than three-quarters of applications submitted by community groups for the Department for Infrastructure’s Road Safety Grant Scheme had been rejected. Mr Muir was speaking after he received confirmation from the Department that of the 61 applications submitted, 47 were rejected. A […]
Alliance MLA Andrew Muir MLA has said he is frustrated the Infrastructure Department has again refused to reveal details of reservoirs in urgent need of intervention works. In a response to a question asked by Mr Muir, the department said it was concerned over revealing ‘vulnerabilities’ in the reservoirs – despite the failure to properly […]