Joanna Byrne (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I thank the witnesses for being here today. I want to pick up on a couple of points in the opening statement. Under programme C – road networks and road safety, the focus from my reading of it seems to be on maintenance and improvement as opposed to expansion and delivery. The reason I picked up on that relates to the area I come from, Drogheda in County Louth, the largest town in the country. It recently had new infrastructure open with a link road, the port access northern cross route. It is unlocking land, with a potential 5,000 to 7,000 homes to be delivered from 2022 up to 2027, 2028 and definitely by 2030, and a population increase of 20,000. Phase 1 of the port access northern cross route was delivered through a public-private partnership between the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund and two housing developers, Castlethorn and the Ballymakenny Developments Limited. Phase 2 was recently approved introduced and is due to start in January. It is funded through a collaboration between Louth County Council and the Housing Infrastructure Services Company. Where has the Department of Transport been at every stage throughout this process? This project has been ongoing for 20 years. The crucial phase, phase 3, which crosses the Dublin-Belfast railway line, is the most intricate part and will pull phases 1 and 2 together and unlock the whole northern environs of Drogheda. It is hanging in limbo at the moment. Is the Department of Transport involved or willing to get involved and step up to see that phase 3 will be delivered in a timely manner?