Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will comment on the same correspondence. I have a concern in respect of how roads are being allocated funding and the criteria used. I have raised the N2 road scheme from Clontibret to the Border, which is in my constituency but part of a much larger project that would increase connectivity to the north west, particularly counties Donegal and Derry. It has been the subject of numerous Government policies and it is in the national development plan, as all these types of road projects are. It has also been part of several peace process negotiations and included in Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy 2021-2025 and other Government strategies. Nevertheless, on a whim, the funding for the next phase has just been withdrawn.

We are told Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, makes these decisions based on some form of independent criteria but within this correspondence it confirms that consideration of allocation for future years is subject to review by the Department and any directions of the Minister. There must be further review of the matter. The main criteria under which the projects are assessed include safety, and the project in question has, quite rightly, been rated as highly positive in the impact it would have. That is not surprising, considering that just last Friday there was another accident in the village of Emyvale, which this road would bypass.

On the criterion of economy the project has been rated as neutral. This suggests the road is being taken on a stand-alone basis as opposed to the critical wider N2 and A5 connectivity link between the north west and Dublin. All of this must be revisited. It would be useful if we could ask in the first instance if TII's original proposal included allocation of the funds for 2022 for this road or if the proposal suggested this would be removed. That would be useful. In essence, we must find out who is stalling this road.

We know how it can be revisited because TII has told us that it happens via ministerial direction. Government representatives could get their act together and fight for it, as they have done in other parts of the country. What was the sequence of events that led to it being put on hold in the first place? Did TII initiate that or was it interference from outside that body?