Sammy Wilson Meets With CBI
16 February 2012 |
Posted by Jim Masson |
FINANCE Minister, Sammy Wilson has met with representatives of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) to discuss the Executive’s capital investment plans.
Issues discussed included capital investment funding, the Executive’s capital investment priorities and the role of private finance in delivering infrastructure investment in Northern Ireland.
Sammy Wilson said: “Following yesterday’s announcement by the Executive about further investment for our construction sector, today’s meeting gave me the opportunity to reassure the CBI delegation that the Executive remains fully committed to delivering investment in our infrastructure.
“The actions taken by the Executive during the monitoring rounds in this financial year demonstrates that commitment. We re-allocated significant funding towards roads and schools maintenance, helping first time buyers and improving the Housing Executive stock. In fact, expenditure on roads maintenance in this financial year, at more than £111million, will now be the highest on record.”
The Minister also highlighted the actions taken by the Executive as part of the 2011-15 Budget process to boost capital investment funding:
The Minister continued: “The Executive recognised the concerns raised by the construction sector in relation to the significant capital DEL reduction imposed by the 2010 UK Spending Review. To boost capital investment funding, the Executive took the decision to switch £256million from resource expenditure into capital investment and also included nearly £600million of capital receipts over the Budget period. This additional funding will help to boost capital investment and the construction sector.”
The Finance Minister also updated the CBI delegation on the implications of the ROI Government’s decision to withdraw funding for the A5 road scheme: He said: “I am pleased that the Executive has now agreed a way forward in terms of the A5 road scheme. The investment package I announced yesterday will deliver substantial economic and social benefits for Northern Ireland. It will also provide a significant boost for our local construction sector.
The Executive agreed a substantial investment package on 14 February 2012 in response to the decision by the Republic of Ireland Government’s decision to materially revise downwards its contribution towards the A5 road scheme. This included £492million of investment to upgrade strategically important sections of the A5, A8 and A2 roads. It also provided some £92million of hospital investments in Londonderry, Omagh and Belfast. This investment package will therefore deliver regionally balanced economic and social benefits.
