Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We welcome the Minister's attendance and submission. He is speaking from a position of direct knowledge. He was in my county last Monday where he announced a major initiative on connectivity to make the north west more accessible to Dublin which is the launch of the new air service between Donegal and Dublin. The Minister travelled on the A5 on the way back right down to Ardee and the M1. I have been travelling that road for almost 40 years, including before I became a Member of the Oireachtas, and I must note that there has been a major improvement in it. From the time one leaves Whitehall until one gets to the Border, one only goes through one town, Emyvale. It is a huge improvement. It does not hold anyone back.

When one enters the North from Aughnacloy through Strabane and Omagh, it is a very difficult road indeed. When I started coming here, that was the best stretch of road between Donegal and Dublin. We were always lucky to get into the North where there was a great service with no potholes, but now it is almost becoming a death trap. If one leaves Donegal to come to Dublin during working hours, one adds an hour to an hour and a half to one's journey. At this time of year, there are tractors, trucks and buses and one is taking one's life in one's hands if one tries to overtake. The other day, there must have been 30 to 40 vehicles between my car and the lead one. It was like a funeral cortege and it puts a great dampener on things.

Inquiries are under way, but can the Minister give us a timescale as to when the A5 will be upgraded? The Minister said there might be another public inquiry. I understand the Minister travelled from Letterkenny to Strabane, which is where the A5 begins. The only dual carriageway in Donegal is for five miles from Letterkenny. The rest of the road to Lifford is probably worse than the A5 and I would like to find out if there are any plans to upgrade it to improve connectivity and access to Donegal to support tourism and industry and facilitate people from Donegal travelling to Dublin hospitals. It is a crucial development for the economy of the north west. We want timescales and an overview of the difficulties in the North. What can we look forward to? Can we look forward to anything happening in our time?