Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It was a commitment we made and which we stand by. We are in no way hesitating or pulling back from it. There was a delay arising from a planning decision by an arbitration body in Northern Ireland. It was found that a decision made should have been made by the Executive. As the decision had been made by civil servants instead, there had to be a change. As a result, there was a delay which was not of our making. As I am sure the Deputies know, as a consequence, the money for the national children's hospital that my Department had to provide could be supplied this year.

The reason is that there was a delay in the payment and the payment will be made next year. There is a commitment to pay £25 million per annum on this and we intend to fulfil that commitment. If we need to fund the A5 this year, we could do so but it is not ready for building so we will not have to. The Northern Ireland authorities have a different financial year from us. We can pay bills in early 2020 if they spend money in late 2019. It does not present us with any great difficulty. We will have the money and we will pay it next year if we have to, and our commitment to the project is absolutely undiluted.