Highlands and Islands MSP Donald Cameron has said that communities across Argyll and Bute and the West Highlands are completely exasperated by the failure of Scottish Government ministers to get a grip on vital transport infrastructure projects.

Mr Cameron made his comments after Islands Minister, Paul Wheelhouse, admitted that ministers had found it very hard to understand what was going wrong with the delayed CalMac ferry contract. Just days earlier SNP Cabinet Secretary Michael Russell had signed a letter to his  fellow Cabinet Secretary Michael Matheson demanding action over the A83 trunk road which has once again been closed following a landslip.

Mr Cameron said: “After 13 years in office the SNP Government seems to be lurching from one fiasco to another when it comes to transport projects which are critical to the economy of my region.

“We have ministers writing to each other demanding action while other ministers are reduced to scratching their heads in public when asked what on earth is going on.

“There seems to be a complete lack of recognition that the Highlands and Islands are utterly dependent on a resilient and fit-for-purpose transport system.

“It’s no wonder my inbox is full of complaints from exasperated local people and businesses.

“The SNP Government needs to get a grip, and it needs to get a grip fast.”