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Local MLA's Liz Kimmins and Justin McNulty both brought up the question of the proposed Albert Basin Park in Newry during question time at Stormont earlier this week.
The Newry and Armagh MLA's were directing their questions to Finance Minister Conor Murphy.
First up was Liz Kimmins who mentioning the fact that Newry, Mourne and Down Council had recently submitted a bid for the Park to the Finance Department's Complementary Fund, an off-shoot of the Belfast Region City Deal, also wanted to know if he thought that the Shared Island Fund would be an option to finance the park.
Ms Kimmins said:" I thank the Minister for his answer. He will be aware — it will come as no surprise that I am raising it — of the proposal for the city park in Newry. It is a key priority for the vital regeneration of Newry city. Whilst it is heartening to hear that Newry, Mourne and Down District Council has submitted a bid for the project to the Department's complementary fund, I am keen to hear, based on the Minister's engagements with the Shared Island unit, what scope he sees for the Shared Island Fund to finance the park."
Thanking the MLA for her question Mr Murphy said "I know that she has been very keen on this particular project as a key component of the overall Newry regeneration proposition, some of which is coming through the city deal proposals. It is hoped that another major staging post for those proposals will be announced in the not-too-distant future. Of course, the bid for the complementary fund will be assessed with other bids across the North, with the exception of the north-west city deal. The complementary fund applies right across the North, and I welcome that the council has put in a bid for that.
"I am aware, as is the Member, of the strategic location of the proposed park in Newry, with the greenway linkage from Carlingford right to Portadown, if you take the towpath in as well. The park will be in a very strategic location along that route, and it has that all-island component to it. I know that the Member has already had some dialogue with the people who operate the Shared Island Fund. I hope that that is a fruitful proposition in the use of that fund, which, hopefully, will complement Newry, Mourne and Down District Council's pursuit of funding in that regard."
Following on Justin McNulty said "As an SDLP representative, I am delighted to say that my party has supported the Albert Basin park proposal every step of the way. It is fantastic that other parties have come on board of late, and that is very positive.
"The Minister talked about the Irish Government's commitments through the Shared Island Fund. What are his commitments, as Finance Minister, to delivering funding to develop infrastructure opportunities on this island? What are his commitments to the Albert Basin park development as Finance Minister in this part of the island?"
Replying to Mr McNulty's comment the Minister said " I am not sure who the Member is referring to when he talks about latecomers to the party when it comes to the idea of a park in Newry. I am sure that he will articulate that at some stage.
Mr Murphy continued "I have engaged very frequently with the Department of the Taoiseach and others who run the Shared Island Fund. I want to bring a prospectus from that to the Executive in order to make sure that the Executive, and the Infrastructure Minister in particular, have an opportunity to engage with that so that the plans that the Executive have, with the limited capital pot that we have, can add maximum value when they are being used across the island. We want to hook up with the national development plan and the Shared Island Fund, which is a component part of that. I am very keen to do that in order to make sure that our Executive programmes and the funding that we have can be enhanced through engagement with other sources of funding, be that the PEACE PLUS or the Shared Island Fund, and that we maximise the potential for cross-border infrastructure, which has suffered from a lack of investment for decades."
