Public Expenditure: Draft Budget 2022-25

Part of Ministerial Statements – in the Northern Ireland Assembly at 3:30 pm on 13 December 2021.

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Photo of Conor Murphy Conor Murphy Sinn Féin 3:30, 13 December 2021

That is primarily a matter for the Department for Infrastructure. As part of the discussion on the Budget, it put in a bid for concessionary fares, which we agreed to ring-fence. Undoubtedly, the black taxi service, given that it relies on and works with the community of west Belfast, and, indeed, across Belfast, will have suffered as a consequence of much-reduced movement under the restrictions. I know that black taxis are a very important community asset in west Belfast in particular, so I look to the Department for Infrastructure to engage with them to ensure that they are supported in the time ahead. The Executive provided a range of sectors with support through the experience of the pandemic, and I know from visiting many of them that, but for that support, a lot of them would not be in business now. I look forward to the Department for Infrastructure's continued engage with the black taxi service.

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