Mr. Jim Boylan:

The Senator is saying what we want to hear because that whole area is a hidden gem waiting for tourism. Deputy Tóibín spoke about poverty and there is poverty along that Carlingford Lough area because the infrastructure is not in place. We know there is a hotel earmarked for Omeath and one for Warrenpoint which will open if that road link is made. That link is needed because we need tourism and other business on an all-island model. It is more than 20 years since the Good Friday Agreement and it is not happening. Carlingford Lough is being left behind. That is where the infrastructure needs to go in. We in Warrenpoint, Newry and Dundalk meet regularly to come up with a new idea. The Senator is right that there needs to be a brand name for the whole area, like the Wild Atlantic Way.

To reply to the last question about the memorandum of understanding, I signed it, with Mr. Malone, on behalf of Warrenpoint. It is doing a lot of good work. It is unique in the European context but we do not have its physical manifestation, a link at Narrow Water or elsewhere, that would give the impetus to kick-start the tourism industry. That is badly needed. One change I would like to see in the memorandum of understanding is that it seems to be led by the two local authorities. It would be better, if it was possible, to set up a committee that was not just made up of politicians but of business people from both areas and people from the health sector. That is probably the impetus that is needed.

Britain’s exit from Europe would be a major step back. We would be almost stepping back into the Stone Age. I cannot see it happening. There is poverty there. We feel that the region of Louth, south Armagh and Down is being left behind. As Mr. Malone says, that is why there needs to be a major development in the whole area, industry, tourism, schools and health. In Warrenpoint we have ideal access to emergency services that could go the whole way down to Carlingford and vice versa. It does not make sense to keep a Border mindset. We have to step above that. We are two jurisdictions, governed differently, but that can still happen if our mindset is an all-island mindset. That needs to happen.