Mary White (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. Yesterday we had an informal meeting of this committee with Eugene Cummins, the County Manager of Monaghan, John McKiernan the roads engineer in Monaghan, John McLaughlin, the roads services manager in Donegal and Jackie Crowe, the deputy chairperson of Monaghan County Council. The principal purpose of the meeting was the importance of the connection to the north west. They say it is an area of 500,000 people. It is a region of high deprivation and unemployment where the economic productivity lags behind the national average. Numerous people have pleaded with this committee for roads, broadband services and the whole social and economic development of the area. We all know these have lagged because of the civil strife and the area has not kept up with the rest of the country.

At the informal meeting on the N2 Clontibret-Aughnacloy road project, the Monaghan County Council manager, council engineers and members of this committee were unanimous that the €1.5 million should be made available for this 28 km project to be brought to design stage. Sometimes it is difficult to be on this committee as we need to show results from the Good Friday and the St. Andrews Agreements and we mean business getting funding into projects. Many people from different parts of the North come to the committee looking for assistance in developing economic activity for their areas. While I do not want to be annoying the Minister, political decisions are made by good Ministers. Getting this project to progress to design stage would indicate that this Government meant business in terms of opening up the whole of the north west.