Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has announced her budget decisions for the current financial year, stating that people are at the heart of her funding choices.

The budget includes additional funding for the community transport sector and the restoration of the road safety advertising budget.

The Minister has allocated an additional £1 million to community transport providers, describing the service as a "lifeline for many people." NI Water and Translink will both receive significant investment. Translink is set to receive nearly 24% of the department's opening resource budget and over 33% of its capital budget. The Minister confirmed that this amounts to 86% of Translink's capital budget request. A further £1m is being ring-fenced for the All-Island Rail Review studies to ensure momentum on the project continues. The All-Island Strategic Rail Review is a joint initiative between the Department for Infrastructure and the Department of Transport in Ireland that sets out a strategic vision for the rail system across the island of Ireland up to 2050.

NI Water will receive 23% of the opening resource and over 40% of the capital budgets allocated to the department. This is a significant level of investment that, according to the Minister, amounts to almost 90% of what the company identified it could deliver this year. She stated that this will help to release capacity constraints to support future housing and economic development.

The Minister also said that road safety is a priority and has increased the road safety advertising budget by over £1.5 million, in addition to increasing the budget for flood risk management to improve flood defences and critical infrastructure.