Statute Summary: Cyclists (Protective Headgear) Bill
Thursday, March 10th, 2011Purpose: To require cyclists to wear helmets. All cyclists would be required to wear helmets on any road or open space, if the Cyclists (Protective Headgear) Bill is enacted. It passed its second stage on 31 January but is unlikely to become law as dissolution is drawing close. The Bill’s objective is to reduce death and serious injury amongst cyclists. From 2005 to 2010, 422 children and 213 adults were hospitalised in Northern Ireland after cycling accidents. It was first discussed within the Assembly’s All-Party Group on Road Safety, chaired by Pat Ramsey. Around 20 responses...[full story]
Transport: The Power of a Passport
Monday, December 6th, 2010As the Giant’s Causeway starts to feature on British passports, agendaNi finds out about their history and purpose at home and abroad. Famous around the world as a symbol of Northern Ireland, the Giant’s Causeway (above) is pictured on new UK passports in circulation since October. Designs for Dover’s White Cliffs, Ben Nevis and the Gower Peninsula in Wales have also been weaved in. The main changes, though, are security upgrades e.g. moving the chip inside the front cover and including a second image of the holder on the observations page. For the delayed plane passenger needing...[full story]
Infrastructure: Transport update
Monday, December 6th, 2010agendaNi assesses how transport investment has progressed so far. Transport is one of the main drivers of economic development and falls into the Investment Strategy’s network pillar which is in turn subdivided into five categories: roads, public transport, gateways, telecommunications and energy. Some 75 per cent of the overall transport sum for 2008-2011 is for roads, with just under a quarter available for public transport and the small remainder for ports and airports (gateways). During 2008-2011 a budget of £611.8 million was allocated for improving roads in Northern Ireland....[full story]
Infrastructure: Room for Improvement – Wendy Blundell
Monday, December 6th, 2010Northern Ireland’s infrastructure is “at a tipping point”, according to the Institution of Civil Engineers’ state of the nation briefing. agendaNi talks to Regional Director Wendy Blundell about its findings. Each year, the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) produces state of the nation overviews of infrastructure at UK and devolved nation levels. For 2010, the institution finds that the UK is “at a cross roads” as productivity growth has been held back by under-investment in infrastructure. Indeed, Northern Ireland is at a similar “tipping point”, the marked exception...[full story]
Transport: Time to speed up rail
Friday, December 3rd, 2010Reg McCabe puts the case for a faster Belfast-Dublin railway, with two stops, and predicts that a continental-style rail link is possible. The current service fails to compete with quicker road journeys. On 20 October last, the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) transport sectoral meeting discussed progress on the Dublin-Belfast rail link including a submission jointly prepared by the Centre for Cross Border Studies and the Joint Business Council that dealt with future development of the service. NSMC officials were asked to discuss the issues raised with the two operating companies...[full story]
Science: Scientists in government
Wednesday, October 6th, 2010Politicians in Northern Ireland have moved into government from very different professional backgrounds but how important is a background in science? Emma Blee asks. With just two doctors and five engineers representing their professions at Stormont, it is clear the transition from science to politics isn’t a popular one. Knowledge of science has become politically important in recent years with policy being formulated on climate change and supporting the economy through innovation. These topics demand that politicians know the right questions to ask, and whom to ask them. There is...[full story]
Transport: The road to reform
Friday, July 9th, 2010agendaNi unpacks the plans for a new public transport agency to oversee the province’s sector. Chief among the new recommendations for reform is that a new public transport agency should be set up, reporting to the DRD. Consultation took place between November 2009 and February this year and a Bill was introduced into the Assembly on 21 June to legally provide for the new proposals. The new agency will be charged with forming the overall strategy and will also act as a watchdog by regulating the system through public transport contracts. According to the DRD, the agency is essential...[full story]
North/South: Journey times cut
Friday, July 9th, 2010Travelling throughout Ireland is becoming much easier thanks to modern roads that cut journey times drastically and make previously unconsidered trips more realistic. Gone are the days of police check-points which were symbolic of the Troubles. Ireland’s roads are now a sign of the island’s integration, not division. The 80km M1 Newry to Dublin motorway helped cut the travel time between Belfast and Dublin from around three hours to one and a half. It was opened in August 2007 and cost approximately €1 billion. More recently, in May, the M7 and M8 motorways from Dublin to Cork...[full story]
Infrastructure: Update
Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010Two years into ISNI2, Northern Ireland’s residents are seeing the first fruits of its most extensive infrastructure programme, whether on the drive along the Westlink, waiting for treatment in the Downe Hospital or being taught in the redeveloped Grosvenor Grammar School, in east Belfast. While most projects in the three key areas we have selected have been completed or are on target, delays have also crept up e.g. at the Gransha mental health centre outside Derry or the Ballee Road East dual carriageway outside Ballymena. Fiscally, the Executive’s spending plans for 2010-2011 do...[full story]
2010 manifestos: Transport directions
Friday, May 14th, 2010Fuel duty and infrastructure top parties’ priorities. Greener travel is lower down the list. Transport policy can be neatly directed into two routes. Roads, railways and ports are devolved to Northern Ireland, while air and sea travel go to Westminster, which also sets the prices at the pumps. DUP The DUP praises community transport for how it helps older people in isolated rural areas and calls for more investment. Programmes to keep up the skills and confidence of older drivers are promoted. Its manifesto also calls for the Treasury to be flexible on fuel duty when costs are particularly...[full story]
