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

No, I did not say it would be abandoned. I am very committed to the A5 project. I was involved in it when I was Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport many years ago and I am very keen to see it start as soon as possible, connecting not just Derry and Donegal but also the Border counties, including the Deputy's county. The reason it is deferred is that the authorities in Northern Ireland have been unable to start the project. We are not going to pay €27 million for a road that has not been started. Once they are ready to start the project we will honour that commitment.

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