QPANI welcomes reallocation of capital funds
Northern Ireland Finance Minister announces additional £19 million for transport infrastructure
THE Quarry Products Association Northern Ireland (QPANI) has welcomed the reallocation by the Northern Ireland Executive of £19 million of capital funds, which was announced earlier this week by Finance Minister Simon Hamilton.
QPANI regional director Gordon Best (pictured) said: ‘The announcement is a real boost for our members, for their skilled employees and for those who use the transport network. The additional funding allocations will see both direct and indirect benefits for construction material suppliers across Northern Ireland and will help sustain 260 highly skilled jobs. However, we want to ensure, given the underfunding to date this year, that the additional funding translates into work on the ground as quickly as possible.’
Mr Best continued: ‘This announcement comes at a time when we, and other construction industry colleagues, are getting increasingly concerned about the chances of the local economic recovery. The recent NI Construction Bulletin, published by the Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP), shows that the total volume of construction output in Northern Ireland in the second quarter of 2014 decreased by 3.7% compared with the first quarter of 2014.
‘In addition, when comparing the second quarter of 2014 with the second quarter of 2013, construction output has fallen by 6.0% and, overall, the trend in construction output in Northern Ireland is still downward. The DFP report once again highlights the total dependency that Northern Ireland construction companies and material suppliers have on the GB construction market.’
Mr Best added: ‘The recent debate in the Assembly on recent budget cuts in roads contracts highlighted the need for a more long-term and strategic approach to funding the maintenance of our roads network, and the clear need to reduce Transport NI’s dependency on the in-year monitoring rounds.
‘QPANI has also highlighted national statistics that show resurfacing of roads delivers almost 20 times the value for money than reactive patching of potholes, and that in the longer term better-maintained roads reduce the level of insurance claims directed against Transport NI. In addition, the Department’s own figures show that for every £1.00 they fall below their annual maintenance target, it costs the Executive an additional £1.60.’
