Mr. Chris Hazzard:

I thank Ms O'Donoghue and Mr. Duffy for their presentation. I have two questions. The first has been touched upon already. It concerns the development of the Narrow Water bridge and progress on that project. It has been a commitment for some time now between the administrations, North and South. Given that it was earmarked for development in the New Decade, New Approach agreement of last year, the local community would have expected more progress by now. Certainly, they would have expected a more coherent public update as to the status of the project. If that is not possible today, I would very much like to meet Ms O'Donoghue and Mr. Duffy in the weeks ahead to follow up on the issue.

Second, if the Narrow Water Bridge and projects like that are the hardware that we can enjoy going forward, we also need to look at the software, as it were. I refer explicitly to Ireland's Ancient East, and the ludicrous situation that it stops at the Border. I represent a part of the world that was the playground of Cú Chulainn and Fionn Mac Cumhaill. Our shoreline is marked with the legacy of St. Patrick, the Vikings, the Normans and the Planters. Taking Downpatrick town, for example, the graves of St. Patrick, the viking king, Magnus, and Thomas Russell, the founder of the United Irishmen, are located there. We have the only working heritage railway in all of Ireland. The Struell Wells and St. Patrick's church at Saul, which is known as the cradle of Christianity in Ireland, are located in the area. Despite this, we cannot tap into Ireland's Ancient East, which is a very rich and promising tourism initiative. We have seen the positive impact that the Wild Atlantic Way has had on the west of the country. Tourism providers in County Down are crying out for this type of investment and support, certainly on the back of Brexit and the Covid-19 pandemic. Now is the time to look at how it can be done and to work alongside people. It is only right that Ireland's Ancient East should stretch right up through County Down and into County Antrim. The Wild Atlantic Way goes right around the western coast to the Giant's Causeway and Rathlin Island. Is the shared island unit working on that issue? It is as important as investment in the hardware projects. It is equally important that we also start to look at how we link up some of these tourism initiatives.