Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the delegation for the excellence of its presentations. They were detailed, well presented and positive but they also outlined the challenges that face the region. As our Vice Chairman said, this meeting follows on from the detailed briefing we had with the witnesses at the Guild Hall some months ago. In my earliest days in the Oireachtas, I recall that the late Donegal Senator, Paddy McGowan, was a powerful advocate for the needs of Donegal and neighbouring counties in the north west. He always spoke about the potential for cross-Border development, even in the early 1990s when things were rather dark on this island. Listening to the witnesses today, one gets a sense of the results of the huge co-operation between Derry and Donegal and the benefits of the different initiatives that were painstakingly put in place for all the people of the region. A big step forward has been achieved. It was not achieved without people on all political sides stepping out of a comfort zone and pushing the boundaries in the best interests of all the people.

I am delighted that Mr. Ó Domhnaill mentioned the memorandum of understanding being signed with the north and west regional assembly. I was speaking to some of the members of that assembly on the day we were in the Guild Hall and they were very glad about it. The counties in the north and west regional assembly are Cavan, Monaghan, Leitrim, Sligo, Roscommon, Mayo and Galway and it is very important that the group works with its neighbours, namely, Derry and the part of Tyrone that is in the Donegal catchment area. There are many similar needs in the area and there are similar opportunities for development. When we think of the western part of the country, we have a tendency to think of an older age cohort but it is heartening that 35% of the 350,000 population are under the age of 25. It is very encouraging information and it bodes very well for the future. As Mr. Ó Domhnaill and Mr. Kelpie said, there need to be huge efforts to ensure the retention of people in the area through third level and further education, because keeping talent in the region is very important. We had the opportunity to meet with people at some of the colleges in Derry and we had met people from the Letterkenny Institute of Technology on a previous visit. It is great to see such co-operation and collaboration because it makes the best use of limited resources.

In the last Dáil and at my request, this committee met Donegal and Omagh district councils regarding the development of the N2/A5. I had requested representations to this committee as it was not really moving forward and we wanted to keep the project on the agenda. Every one of today's witnesses spoke of the importance of that project and it is important in my constituency too, on the Monaghan side. Anybody who travels from Dublin to Letterkenny and on to Derry will know of this yawning gap in infrastructure that needs to be filled. We have consistently supported the project over the years and we want it to move forward as it is absolutely essential.

We do not know what the outcome of Brexit will be but we all know that it will be adverse for all of our island, regardless of its form. As I have said in the Dáil Chamber and at this committee, there are decisions on investment and infrastructure that are within the competence of our own Government, even if there are other areas where the Government or the Oireachtas will not get their way because the decisions on them will be taken in other fora. We appeal to the Government to identify the infrastructural needs of, and to prioritise, the Border region in this regard, because that region will be impacted first and most adversely by Brexit. If we do not have a modern infrastructure to assist businesses in remaining competitive and to make our region easier to get to, we will be in difficulty. The N2/A5 upgrade is essential in this regard, as are other road links throughout the Derry-Donegal region and in the north and west region. All of us in the Oireachtas, as I am sure is the case in other parliamentary assemblies, have asked the Government to prioritise the infrastructural needs of the Border region, which is at the frontier of Brexit.

It is heartening to listen to the witnesses today and to hear what has been achieved. In my earliest days in the Oireachtas, I listened to colleagues from Donegal and I heard councillors from the north west too. While it is good to hear what has been achieved, the challenge is to realise the potential in the best interests of our people. The Irish central Border area network, ICBAN, and the eastern Border region which the Vice Chairman was closely associated with in the past, came to this committee some weeks ago and made excellent presentations. There is a determination within each of these regional groupings to deal with the challenges we have. I will continue to support their important and valuable work.