Ford fears Translink job losses and calls for Minister to act

2.40.00pm GMT Thu 19th Feb 2009

"Translink is a vital service for Northern Ireland needing to be enhanced not reduced." says David Ford MLA

Alliance Leader David Ford has stated he hopes no jobs will be lost at Translink following news of an £11.5 million funding shortfall. He has called on the Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy to act to allay fears of potential job losses

David Ford said: "This shortfall at Translink perfectly highlight the failings of the Department of Regional Development. They proportionally spend much less of the transport budget on public transport than any region in the UK, and probably the rest of Europe. This is why they are known to many as the Department of Road Development.

"The Minister must act quickly to allay fears of job losses.

"It's ridiculous that the Department think they can solve the Belfast commuter problem by building more roads. No other similar-sized city in Europe would attempt to tackle this issue in this manner. We need a far higher proportion of the transport budget spent on buses and trains.

"There must be no job losses at Translink. It provides a vital service for the people of Northern Ireland and this service needs to be enhanced, not reduced. With the onset of the economic downturn, recent findings have shown an increase in the number of people here using public transport. The Minister, through his flawed funding plan, is failing to respond to this increasing demand."