Mr. P.J. O'Hanlon:

If one takes the four counties of Donegal, Derry, Tyrone and Monaghan, they contain approximately 17% to 18% of the population of the whole island of Ireland. It is the only area that does not have a proper road infrastructure. In my own county of Monaghan, over 90% of those employed work in small to medium enterprises. Most of the companies in Monaghan are owned by people from the county who have grown their businesses there. The one thing we need is proper infrastructure. We need a proper road from Monaghan the whole way up to Letterkenny and on to Derry. Unfortunately, we do not have that. Deputy O'Dowd and the Vice Chairman alluded to the road from Dundalk to Newry and up to Belfast, which is the complete opposite of the north-west region. Alasdair McDonnell asked what was holding it up and it is the €1.6 million Monaghan County Council needs to fund the picking of a preferred route from Clontibret to the Border. We talk about challenges and we are all aware of the ones that are coming down the road but to be fair to the four counties concerned, I have no doubt that if they can get this investment, we will meet these challenges head on. This is vital infrastructure that is badly needed not just in Monaghan but the whole way up to Donegal and Derry.