The Alliance Party has called on Infrastructure Minister Chris Hazzard to provide "firmer assurances" that the rest of the funding to deliver the York Street Interchange scheme will be made available.

Spokesperson Kellie Armstrong "cautiously" welcomed the £4million funding to develop the scheme to a construction ready state, however she said it would be a waste of public money to develop the scheme further without giving certainty that it will be constructed.

She said: "The Infrastructure Minister seems to be spending his last few weeks in office pushing out press releases with announcements of funding for a wide range of schemes. Did he suddenly realise he had money to spend when the election was announced? What we needed was a fully costed strategic plan for roads, rather than a reactive piecemeal approach which is not the best use of resources."

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UUP MLA Jenny Palmer said: "I am glad to hear that this money has been found, but much more is needed. The Minister’s previous comments regarding this key scheme have been less than encouraging on occasion, so I do welcome the fact that he now seems to be treating it more seriously and has identified funding to get it to a ’construction ready state.’

"Quite simply this scheme is the most vital infrastructure project on the books of this Executive. It has already failed us on so many other aspects of government, but I am glad to see some progress in this area."

(CD/MH)