Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That contribution is helpful. I thank the members of the delegation for that discussion. This does not end today. The witnesses have highlighted the challenges that lie ahead.

I thank Mr. McSorley for speaking about the review. The capital expenditure review is critical. Coming from Monaghan County Council and Donegal County Council the know what they need, and the important point Mr. Cummins made was that decisions can be made on foot of a level of investment by the Government. We will ensure that the transcripts of the contributions made here will get onto the right desks, be it the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, or whomever, and we can also send it on to the regional Minister in Northern Ireland. We will use the opportunity to raise the issue on 10 July when this committee will go to the North-South Ministerial Council in Armagh and no doubt we will have the agreement of the committee on the priority agendas at that meeting.

We will continue to keep the issue live, which is the message given today. In terms of the perception, people have felt let down in the past in that the project was to go ahead but in the end did not proceed. Financial commitments were given. Without making excuses, issues arose about the state of the economy, the financial crash and so but that is what did happen. We must keep it going, however, and that is the purpose of this meeting. We must be conscious of the timeframe. The Irish Government has committed Stg£25 million in 2015, as Mr. McSorley outlined, and Stg£25 million in 2016. We heard today that if it cannot be spent in 2015, the commitment is Stg£50 million for 2016. We have to ensure that happens and if there are capacity issues, looking at the capital expenditure of Northern Ireland, Greece and so on, we have to keep the pressure on also.

I thank the witnesses. Mr. Doherty will agree it is great to hear Killybegs men advocating road infrastructure up as far as Carrigart and Gortnabrade. I can see where Mr. McLaughlin is coming from in terms of potential. It is not just about the A5 or the M2. It is about Dublin, Derry and Donegal, and linking into the new Wild Atlantic Way. We are seeing an increased number of camper vans heading to Malin Head, across the bridge from Fanad to Carrigart, down to Sliabh League and Killybegs.