Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

We have more or less agreed that two roads straddling the Border will be exempt. I would also like to exempt the A5 for exactly the reasons identified by Deputy Dooley, namely, because through traffic from the northern part of County Donegal travels through Northern Ireland along that road. I will be raising that issue with my UK counterpart in London on Thursday. I have not discussed the issue with the leader of Sinn Féin but I have raised it with the Northern Ireland Minister for Regional Development, Danny Kennedy, MLA, and the Minister for the Environment, Mark H. Durkan, MLA. As they are the line Ministers for transport and the environment, it makes sense that I have discussions with them rather than a Member of this House. However, it is worth noting this is a UK competence and, irrespective of how much sympathy the Northern Ireland Executive may have for us, this decision is being made in London on a UK basis. I am not sure of the extent to which Deputy Adams has the ears of Conservative Party Ministers in London.

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