The Department of Finance has written to Fermanagh and Omagh District Council to restate the Executive's commitment to the A4 Enniskillen Southern Bypass.

Finance Minister John O'Dowd sent the letter in response to a council motion that sought reassurance after £6.6 million previously earmarked for the project was reallocated during an in-year monitoring exercise.

The motion, adopted in March, asked the Minister to confirm the Executive's commitment to provide £16.2 million towards the scheme, alongside £12.5 million from the Mid South West Growth Deal, and to release the funding as soon as possible. It also called for work to begin at the earliest opportunity.

At a council meeting, Sinn Féin councillor Sheamus Greene welcomed the Minister's response and said it would be disappointing for those who had spread false information about the bypass.

SDLP councillor Adam Gannon said he welcomed the letter but took a different view. He said the Executive had been promising the bypass for years and that funding had been withdrawn more than once. He argued that the real test would be whether the commitment was reflected in the Minister's budget for the coming year.

In response, Sinn Féin councillor Tommy Maguire said it was noticeable that when a minister from the SDLP held the infrastructure portfolio, Councillor Gannon had not been as vocal. He accused him of cheap politics and said that any outstanding budgets are routinely returned to the following year's allocation.