Mr. John Campbell:

I thank the committee for receiving our delegation and allowing us to update the committee on the project we are here to discuss - that is, the N14-A5-N2 route. We call it the Dublin to Derry and Donegal route. I remind the committee that we met in September 2012, when the delegation outlined the importance of developing the dual carriageway as a key strategic route from Dublin to the north west. We highlighted the need to ensure connectivity between the main cities throughout the country and identified gateways and hubs in the peripheral regions. We have come before the committee today to reaffirm the need to have the A5 dual carriageway project kept at the top of the agenda in both jurisdictions and to continue the planning for the implementation of the project in its entirety. I will reflect on some of the progress over the past 20 years as well as the context - that is, where we see the project fitting within the Good Friday Agreement and other regional strategies. Then I will hand over to my colleague, Danny Kelly, from Strabane. He will go into a more in-depth discussion on the A5 route and why we see it as a continued priority. He will then sum up what we are asking of the joint committee.

We should consider this broadly in the context of the Good Friday Agreement. I realise I am talking to people who are altogether aware of this; I am not trying to teach my granny to suck eggs but simply to set the context. We have seen major achievements in cross-Border co-operation and collaborative work in the past 20 years, especially in the areas of health, transport, airports, tourism, waterways, and third level education.

The Good Friday Agreement brought a new beginning to Ireland, North and South, to the Governments, the communities and individuals. It focused on connecting people and communities and removing barriers to building peace, prosperity, development and growth, especially in the society and communities North and South in the Border region. It brought a new beginning to relationships on the island of Ireland and to our expectations for a new beginning for everyone no matter where they live. This idea is especially dear to us in the region we are discussing.

To build new relationships we must remove the blockages to economic and social progress. We have identified that the delivery of the N14-A5-N2 route to the north west would help to overcome some of the barriers that the Good Friday Agreement brought to light. Furthermore, we believe it would help us to achieve, facilitate and make easier a range of projects and initiatives, under programmes such as INTERREG and PEACE. We believe it will enhance the results considered to be achievable under those programmes, and this is a key aspect for the areas that we represent.

There is a need to build on the goodwill generated by the agreements, to strengthen the links between the communities on both sides of the Border and to overcome the obstacles to access to each other and the wider community on the island. It is a question of equality of opportunity.

The Good Friday Agreement refers to the right to equal opportunity in all social and economic activity. The strategic transport planning is identified in the agreement as an area of North-South co-operation and for discussion by the British-Irish Council. In respect of that, a section of the A5 has been identified but in isolation that does not work for our location. The connection on sections of the N2 and N14 through Letterkenny to Dublin has been essential to allow the region grow and maybe help to offset the deprivation, unemployment and other factors that afflict or affect us in the north-west region, no matter which side of the Border one lives on.

There is a commitment in the agreement to policies for sustained economic growth and stability in Northern Ireland and to promoting social inclusion. Transport links were identified as a suitable issue for discussion at the British–Irish Council as outlined in Strand 3 of the Good Friday Agreement. It also recognises the importance of ensuring equality of opportunity and includes a commitment to policies for sustained economic growth and stability in Northern Ireland and to promoting social inclusion. The implementation of these policies included a new regional development strategy which would lead to social cohesion in the rural and Border areas as well as urban settings. The strategy would commit to making rapid progress and strengthening the physical infrastructure of the region, developing the advantages and resources of rural areas and rejuvenating major urban centres. That is part of the focus of our discussion today.

This project sits well with the regional development strategy, the national development plan and the north-west gateway initiative and the St. Andrews Agreement, which further committed to ensure the executive has the capacity to make long-term capital investments to underpin the economic transformation of Northern Ireland, as well as bringing long-term benefits to the island. The development of the A5 dual carriageway and the N14-N2 link is essential to improve connectivity to the north west and to create a peace dividend, particularly in areas that suffered social exclusion, chronic unemployment and deprivation, the areas we represent and which our respective councils fall into. A failure to honour the commitment risks creating conditions which would have the potential to resurrect feelings of discontent and disenfranchisement in communities.

The National Development Plan 2007-2013 recognised Letterkenny-Derry as a gateway critical to the economic and tourist development of the north west and the Government has committed to pursuing opportunities to underpin development of this gateway, highlighting the improvements in road links to the region as among the priorities. It ties in especially with tourism on the wild Atlantic way and the north Antrim coast. Allowing one to hop on and hop off those routes, whether entering them at the M1 and returning that way, or travelling through Donegal and along the west coast, would help enhance those opportunities.

The regional development strategy recognises the need for balanced regional development in order to achieve social cohesion and build a strong regional economy. The strategy specifies Omagh and Strabane as hubs, centres of employment and services for the surrounding rural communities. A major part of that is having a strategic road network, bringing the project we are discussing to fruition.

The absence of access routes is very obvious in the north west. The route into the north west is especially important to open up different economic and tourism opportunities.