Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Fáilte abhaile roimh an Teachta. Tá súil agam go raibh turas maith aige.

The Narrow Water Bridge is the first manifestation of physical contact between North and South that has been put together for very many years in this area and which is supported, as a principle, by practically everybody. Deputy Adams will be aware that the estimate for the cost of the provision of the Narrow Water Bridge to Rostrevor was approximately €18 million and that the tenders which came in were very much in excess of that.

In terms of what needed to be done, clearly, Louth County Council has an issue, as do Newry and Mourne District Council, the Northern Ireland Executive and the Government here. A value for money report was done which estimated that the bridge is a viable proposition and entity. The problem is the scale of the tenders being in excess of the scale of the estimate but I am not qualified to go through the detail of that.

The moneys provided from a European Union perspective, through the SEUPB, were allocated for the provision of the bridge in a certain timescale and we do not want to lose this money. This matter was discussed at the North-South Ministerial Council in Armagh on Friday. Agreement was reached between all the parties - everyone continued to support the provision of the Narrow Water Bridge - that there would be an immediate analysis of the extent of the tenders submitted and the reasons they were so extensive and that discussions would be held with the SEUPB. That is where it lies at the moment but there was a general consensus strongly in support of the Narrow Water Bridge.

To be honest with the Deputy, I am not quite sure if it can be dealt with in the timescale mentioned here. There was a question of piling on either side of the lough. I do not know the answer to the Deputy's question but I know the Government here supports this, as do Louth County Council, Newry and Mourne District Council and the Assembly in Northern Ireland. It is a question of having the money in place, doing the analysis of the tenders and arriving at a position where this allocation from a European Union perspective is not lost to the region. I would like to see the Narrow Water Bridge provided but I cannot say at this stage whether the timescale to hold this particular tranche of money is sufficient. However, there is work going on, as a consequence of the North-South Ministerial Council, on the analysis of the tenders and the extent of those received.

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