Mr. Garret Doocey:

I thank the Deputy for the question. I volunteered myself before the Deputy finished his question so there are some aspects of it that I may need to pass back to Mr. Spratt in terms of the A5 project and the Narrow Water Bridge. However, I can certainly give an outline based on my knowledge of it as well and the work that is under way in terms of the North South Ministerial Council and sectoral meetings, etc.

In terms of rail connectivity, the Deputy mentioned his conversation last week with Mr. Meade of Irish Rail. A number of initiatives are under way with regard to rail, as the Deputy is probably aware. Discussions have been ongoing, both in terms of the rail companies and at a departmental level between ourselves and our colleagues in the Department for Infrastructure in Belfast, as regards the upgrade and expansion of the Enterprise service. We understand a proposal is being favourably reviewed at the minute by the relevant EU body. We expect that we will see some progress regarding that over the funding period 2021 to 2027. That will require additional support through our national development plan, NDP, review as well. It is, however, of significant assistance to us in terms of that project.

Separate to that, there are also ongoing discussions with our colleagues in Belfast as regards the proposed strategic rail review, which is looking at the railway sector on the island of Ireland in its entirety and considering what elements of the rail network might be suitable for higher speed rail in the future. Obviously, a prime candidate for that is what is traditionally known as the core corridor, that is, the Dublin-Belfast corridor. That is another aspect of ongoing work we have close engagement with our colleagues in Belfast on.

I will hand over to Mr. Mullaney, who will fill the Deputy in on the A5 project and Narrow Water Bridge aspects.