Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for being here. I will pick up on a comment in the first instances in respect of the A5. I welcome the Government's commitment to it, which predates this Government and dates back to the St. Andrews Agreement. Having met with residents and families of victims, I know that there have been in the region of 50 deaths on it since 2006. There is a real safety issue with the road. As the Minister said, it has to go through the optioning and planning process in terms of environmental and other considerations, which is appropriate, but it is a really important piece of infrastructure for safety reasons. I welcome the funding and commend those who have campaigned in relation to the project for so long. I merely make that point.

The Minister references that he has instructed the Department to reassess policy pathways. A significant part of what we are here to do is to look at progress, but also to listen to corrective actions that are being proposed or undertaken. Can the Minister give us a sense of the Department's approach to that matter?