Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am very concerned about the A5 project. Irish taxpayers are paying €75 million towards its cost. We have been accused by the First Minister, Arlene Foster, of trying to take jobs in the North down to the South, but that accusation is wrong. There is a possibility that Irish taxpayers will end up paying to use the A5. We are trying to complete many projects, one of which is the Ardee bypass project that I mentioned earlier, and €75 million would go a long way towards covering the cost of their completion. I have been approached by many people living in the Border area who are very concerned about our providing €75 million towards the cost of that project.

In the context of the local improvement and community improvement schemes, many people are of the view that no works are being carried out to roads. Most of these roads are used by taxpayers. It is nearly impossible to get a pothole filled or a stretch of road repaired. Those in government seem to be talking about priorities A, B and C but is there any strategy to repair those roads? We hear that the economy is improving and that money is available but people have not seen any investment in our road infrastructure.