Shane Ross (Dublin Rathdown, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I assure the Deputy I will make his views known to the TII. I will make sure they are passed on. He should not underestimate the cost of the project, which is €400 million. It is split approximately as follows: section 1 from Ballybofey and Stranorlar will cost €115 million; section 2 from Letterkenny to Manorcunningham will cost €99 million; and section 3 from Manorcunningham to Lifford and Strabane, which is the A5 link, will cost €186 million. These are only estimates and the budget costs will be clear when the projects progress to business case stage.

The TEN-T projects in Donegal form part of the designated comprehensive network. The Deputy will be familiar with the TEN-T regulation targets from his time at the European Parliament. In Donegal, the TEN-T includes the N15 as far as the junction with the N13, the N13 to Letterkenny and onto the Border and the N14. In June, the European Commission published a proposal for a new regulation for the connecting Europe facility, CEF, which is the funding instrument for the European transport network, to come into effect from 1 January 2021. The comprehensive cross-Border road link between Dublin, Strabane and Letterkenny is included in the annex to the proposal, meaning the Irish elements of the route could, in principle, apply for CEF funding when the regulation comes into effect.

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