Mr. Paddy Malone:

I thank the committee for this opportunity. Over recent years, we have worked together with Newry and Mourne District Council and the various chambers of commerce to try to build economic stability in the region. The memorandum of understanding signed by Louth County Council, Newry and Mourne District Council and the various organisations, including Dundalk Chamber of Commerce and Warrenpoint Chamber of Commerce, has been a catalyst in creating both an environment in which we can all work together and a network, which is allowing this area to develop. That MOU is unique in Europe and is recognised as such because the original documentation was signed in Brussels. The memorandum addresses a number of issues of mutual interest but it is primarily aimed at regenerating the area. The tourism potential is enormous and that is what makes it so important.

A report published by the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government ten days ago indicated that Dundalk is the weakest gateway town of the nine gateways in the country. Our unemployment rate is 25% above the national average. We were well aware of these figures because the two chambers of commerce, Louth County Council and Newry and Mourne District Council commissioned a report three years ago which highlighted this. The Department's report reinforces the message. We have nine gateways in the South, and Dundalk has the joint lowest score, together with Letterkenny. This indicates that the Border area is a major problem, not just in County Louth. The fact that both towns with the lowest score are on the Border is an interesting factor.

We need to get those in the area to work together as a unit. Members of Newry and Mourne District Council sit on the Louth Economic Forum and one of its major recommendations is that when we address the infrastructure of County Louth, we should automatically think of Newry and Mourne at the same time. That is the thinking that is going on within the various organisations and we need this bridge, which will give a physical dimension to what people want on the ground. It is for that reason that we believe strongly that because our unemployment rate is so high, the unskilled and semi-skilled jobs which are needed will be provided by the tourism and construction industries. As Mr. Boylan said, construction alone would generate 200 jobs. That is what makes this so important. The PayPal jobs and other jobs we have attracted to the town over the past 12 months have had an impact on one aspect of our economy but not on the other. PayPal is employing as many people from the North as it is from the South. When we talk about major industries going into the area, we do not stop at the Border.

One of the first calls I received when we were looking at PayPal was from a councillor based in Newry who is a member of Newry Chamber of Commerce, and his first question was: "How do I get into PayPal?" We have set up that relationship in order that we work together all the time. This bridge will be a physical manifestation of what we in the chambers of commerce have been seeking for several years. I first met Mr. Boylan about this project four years ago. We believe strongly in its economic impact on the area, which is needed. This is an area of major deprivation. Newry is ranked the second worst area in the North after Strabane, and it includes the greater Warrenpoint area. It is an economic blackspot both north and south of the Border.