Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

A good road between Dublin and Derry would certainly be welcome and desirable. I presume the Minister meant to say €480 million, as distinct from €580 million. It is in the region of half a billion euro. Is that part of the text of the St. Andrews Agreement? If so, was the commitment to build a road from Derry to Dublin, or from Derry to Aughnacloy? In other words, are the two sections of the road to be done simultaneously? Are we to have two dual-carriageways? Is that part of the commitment or is it simply a commitment that the Irish Government intended to provide the €480 million to the Northern Ireland Government?

Do we have any control over the delivery of that money or over the planning development that takes place? If the Government in the North of Ireland was to change its mind and have a motorway, will we still deliver the money? If it changes it mind and has a two-in-one road, will that be the same? Is the commitment that as the money is requested the Irish Government provides it? Most of the road development that has taken place to date has been in the context of public private partnerships, which require very little money up front. At present, half a billion euro is being provided to Northern Ireland when the British Government is giving us a bailout of €7 billion. It sounds not just ironic but contradictory.

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