By Adam Kula

Copyright newsletter

However, the SDLP in turn came under fire over its support for the climate neutral legislation which has largely been blamed for that failure. Meanwhile the Sinn Fein infrastructure minister has sought to direct blame for the fiasco towards those who had opposed the scheme from the outset. In June, the High Court in Belfast ruled against the construction of the A5 dual carriageway, citing Stormont’s 2022 Climate Change Act as one of the reasons. The act commits Northern Ireland to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. The High Court said essentially that it had been wrong to give the green light to the A5 because it had not provided enough information on how the new road would fit in with this 2050 target. The SDLP West Tyrone MLA Daniel McCrossan brought a motion to the Assembly, calling on the Executive “to ensure that the A5 scheme begins construction by the end of the Assembly mandate”. McCrossan said that “this shambles of an Executive” has now allowed the A5 scheme to collapse three times since it was first announced in 2007, adding “every collapse has the fingerprints of Sinn Fein ministers all over it”. “The first failure came under minister Conor Murphy, who failed to account for the requirements of the habitats directive,” he said. “The second failure came when Sinn Fein collapsed this Assembly for a number of years… years lost because Sinn Fein played politics with people’s lives.” That led up to the most recent rejection of the project by the courts, which he put down to “sheer ineptitude”. “Sinn Fein are keen to have all the power, yet never take responsibility,” he said, going on to add: “Do your job, and get this road built.” Sinn Fein’s Nicola Brogan declared herself “disappointed” by Mr McCrossan’s “hollow” motion “and the obvious political intent behind it”. The DUP’s Peter Martin said blame for the project largely lies with those who imposed these “extraordinary” climate change targets to begin with in 2022 (the DUP had instead supported an 82% reduction in greenhouse gases by 2050, not a 100% one). Mr McCrossan intervened to say it was a “myth” that the climate target itself was to blame – rather, it was the failure to follow “due process” by Stormont departments in relation to it. TUV MLA Timothy Gaston rose to criticise the SDLP for bringing its motion, given its support for the climate change targets. “My thoughts are with families of those who have lost loved ones [on the road],” he said. “Indeed, they continue to be let down by the political fallout of net zero, which now puts all future infrastructure projects in Northern Ireland at risk… “This is a motion which exposes the hypocrisy of the mad environmental zealots by delivering them a good dose of reality. “The SDLP bring a motion to this house complaining about the fallout from the very climate change legislation they so enthusiastically endorsed at every stage as it made its way through this Assembly.” He said the SDLP “can’t wash their hands” of the mess surrounding the A5. Near the end of the debate, the infrastructure minister Liz Kimmins rose to speak to the Assembly, and cast blame on those who had opposed the A5 scheme from the outset. “Unfortunately, in this debate I think this point has been lost,” she said. “A small minority group of individuals are opposed to this scheme, and these individuals have used every means possible to frustrate the efforts of the executive and the subsequent ministers in getting this scheme delivered. “In fact, at the most recent judgment, their legal representative said that this was the result of an 18 year crusade. So that tells me all we need to know.” She stressed “I am determined to build the A5,” adding that “I’m not interested in soundbites – I’m interested in solutions”. In the end, a UUP amendment to the motion was agreed. This removed the demand for work on the A5 to begin “by the end of the Assembly mandate”, and instead simply asked that work on the project “begins as soon as possible”.