Mr. John Campbell:

There is a sea-change in Donegal County Council.

Ian McGarvey is a man who defies any definition of ageism. If we had a race from the Chamber to Lifford Bridge, I would put my money on him, at 84 years of age, to beat any of us.

Deputy Crowe asked if we believed there are political blocks to the project or just in terms of funding. We have Donegal, Derry, Dungannon, south Tyrone, Monaghan and Omagh and Strabane councils, Irish Central Border Area Network, ICBAN, and the north-west region cross-Border group so there is definitely no political blockage on the ground. We are united on the project. It is a rhetorical question that might be better answered by either the MPs or the TDs and Senators than us. In the meetings we had in recent days I did not see any blockages. There are details to be addressed, as Mr. Cummins, Mr. McSorley and Mr. McLaughlin have outlined. The important one Senator White raised was that of the timeline. Mr. McSorley addressed the indicative timeline, and these other elements have to come into place, and that is why we are here today. It is the next level up. If there is a political, money or any other blockage, it is not at the local level. That is clear from the people around the table today.

Like Deputy Pringle, I am from the south west of the county. Looking at the map one might not see a direct benefit to the Donegal-Killybegs area but I see the potential benefit. The opening up of any area within our county will benefit the entire country, and I am aware there are a number of other projects whether it is the likes of Enniskillen or the port in Killybegs, in which the Irish Government invested significant moneys in the past ten or 15 years and is now showing some benefits. While the benefits may seem far away at times, for our hub of Letterkenny-Derry it is essential for us that this project is progressed. As Mr. McSorley said, we need the issue to be pushed forward by this committee, which we believe is the best committee to do that with both Administrations North and South. I hope we have given the members enough of an outline to help them understand where we see it progressing. There is an indicative timeline and I hope through their own good offices they will ensure that happens.