Ms Órfhlaith Begley:

I thank our guests for their presentations. As a representative of the north-west region, I commend the work that has been done to date between the two council areas. It has been fantastic and is a good example of North-South co-operation.

Following on from this, the potential of the north-west region in its entirety is dependent on the delivery of the A5 western transport corridor. Unfortunately, we had a recent setback to the A5 but I hope that following the next public inquiry we will see the delivery of the project, which is crucial to the regeneration of the entire north-west region. I want to touch on the fact that €500 million has been allocated to the shared island unit. Originally, the Irish Government had agreed to co-fund the A5. It has now committed only €75 million towards it. Is there potential for the Irish Government to increase its contribution to the A5? Will additional funding be made available to the shared island unit and cross-Border projects?