Councillor Alex Redpath
(Lisburn & Castlereagh City Council)
Chair, Ulster Young Unionist Council
Speech at the Ulster Unionist Party Conference
#UUP17
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
Fellow Unionists,
It is a great pleasure to speak to you today and to introduce a strong team of Young Unionists who will be discussing their work for this great party. Today you’ll hear from Callum Glenny from the Queen’s University Young Unionists on their work this year; Kellie Cowan on her experience of the Young Unionists and Hannah Niblock about how we can encourage young people and women on getting more involved in the party.
Following Robin’s election as leader we’ve had a number of constructive conversations about how the Young Unionists can advance the work of the Ulster Unionist Party. One of the tasks we have been given is to deliver two policy documents with proposals on transport and youth crime to be adopted by the party. No other party gives this level of influence to their young members and I am immensely proud of the hard work my members have put into these documents which will shape the work of this party going forward.
Today I will outline our proposals to reforming public transport and there are four new commitments which I wish to propose today.
The first relates to how public transport is paid for. Currently we pay for individual Ulster Bus, Metro and NI Railways tickets which are non-transferable. Translink have announced plans for an integrated payment system for Ulster Bus, Metro and the proposed Belfast Rapid Transit. However, this scheme has been delayed owing to delays in the Belfast Rapid Transit scheme.
We’re calling on Translink to go a step further and to deliver an integrated Oyster-card like system as soon as possible that will not just extend to Ulster Bus and Metro but also incorporate NI Railways and the Belfast Rapid Transit Scheme when it’s delivered. This will allow Translink customers to have a single card which can be quickly scanned to pay for their journey regardless of their mode of transport.
Our second proposal is to extend and upgrade the provision of free wifi across all Translink services. Commuters demand the ability to work effectively during their journey to work. Currently wifi is only available on Goldliner and NI Railway Services and leaves much to be desired. We believe this should be extended to all Ulster Bus and Metro services. We also believe a commitment should be given to increase wifi speeds across all services. This policy will be good for commuters, good for business and good for Translink as it greatly incentivises the use of public transport.
Our third proposal is to assist job seekers by providing a Travel Discount Card similar to the existing scheme in England and Wales. Currently Job Seekers can seek re-imbursement for travelling to interview only and the re-imbursement is retrospective. We want to help job seekers find jobs by giving them an upfront discount which not only covers travel to interview but also includes travelling to seek our opportunities.
Finally and most importantly the Ulster Unionist Party should commit itself to extending rail services in Northern Ireland. We should commit to re-opening the Antrim line and supporting the construction of a spur to Belfast International Airport. We should also commit to completing feasibility studies on extending rail lines to Armagh and Enniskillen.
These proposals go far beyond what is being offered by our opponents and puts the Ulster Unionist Party firmly on the side of commuters whose hard work generates the taxes that fund all other government spending. I would like to thank Robin and the press and policy team for all their assistance and for their continued commitment to putting the Young Unionists at the heart of this party’s mission of delivering for the people of Northern Ireland.