John McGahon (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Deputy O'Dowd and I would be delighted to welcome everybody to the Narrow Water bridge project in north Louth. It would be very remiss of me not to mention the former councillor, Mr. Tommy Elmore, now long dead, who put the concept of the bridge on the map. It was his brainchild and he was pushing it in the 1980s and 1990s, long before any of us came along. It would be remiss of me not to mention and give credit to the man who put the concept of the Narrow Water bridge on the map. In 2013 the Narrow Water bridge came excruciatingly close to getting across the line. We all know why it did not but it must be the top priority project now and I am sure the Chairman will agree with me on that. The Chairman and I would love to welcome this committee to Louth to see this top-class project.

As an avid rail user I also wish to raise the high speed rail project between Belfast and Dublin which is included in Project Ireland 2040. There are eight direct trains from Belfast to Dublin every day whereas Liverpool to Manchester or Glasgow to Edinburgh, cities of similar size and distance apart, have up to 30 direct trains per day. I would love to see a significant increase on the Dublin-Belfast line. In terms of cross-Border greenways, Louth County Council and Newry and Mourne District Council are already doing a lot of collegial work on connecting the greenway in north Louth through Victoria Lock and on to Newry. I would love the shared island unit to set out a long-term vision for our greenways. I would really love to see a greenway stretching from north Louth right up through Newry and along the south Down coast. That would be a great way to increase cross-Border tourism.

When we talk about the projects that are coming along, are we talking about more established projects like the Narrow Water bridge that have come very close to completion or is there space for funding new projects or new ideas? Will the funding be directed, more or less, to shovel-ready projects?