Ms ?mer Deane:

On the A5, our understanding is that the statutory processes are near a conclusion. The reason the Government announced the funding now is to try to give the impetus and momentum. The Minister for Infrastructure, John O’Dowd, has been clear that he is hoping to be able to take a decision soon and that the project can break ground this year, 2024, whether on a phased basis or whatever way it works. We are fully supportive of that. And as mentioned earlier, it is also about road safety. The number of deaths on the road is quite shocking. The Senator mentioned the linked roads. The Government’s announcement specifically mentioned the N2 Clontibret to the Border and the TEN-T Donegal projects.

On rail, the hourly-frequency service is an identified priority for both administrations. It is one that was agreed should be moved ahead as quickly as possible. That is why it is going ahead now. There is a broader question of the all-island strategic rail review. That will have to go through to the lead Departments on this and they will have to take decisions but we are not at that point yet. There is also significant interest in terms of PEACEPLUS funding to help support aspects of that rail review but it is not over the line at this stage.

On the Battle of the Boyne project, the shared island contribution is €10 million but the understanding is that the project itself will be bigger and that this is a contribution to help support the conservation development plan on which the OPW is leading. It will part-fund it and get funding from other sources. Some 500,000 people have visited the estate on an annual basis and 30,000 to the house so it already gets quite a bit of traffic. The Senator mentioned the Orange Order. It owns a bit of land on the site and it would be involved, as would all communities, in developing this in a very sensitive way. This is a bigger project. We hope we will have full sight of what is being proposed before the end of this year.

I will ask Mr. Duffy to come in on the Protestant communities along the Border but will make a general point on it first, and this also goes back to Deputy Conway-Walsh’s point. In all our dialogues, we try to reach out to underrepresented voices and to make sure those who are taking part represent all communities on this island, including Protestant communities in the South and we will continue to do that. Mr. Duffy might pick up on the specific work.