Imelda Munster (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I raise yet again the issue of funding for the port access northern cross route for Drogheda. Numerous applications have gone in over the years and all have been turned down by the Government. We have been waiting for 15 years on funding for the northern cross route. The northern cross route is an integral part of the northern environs plan, which is a plan to see the construction of 7,000 homes on the north side of Drogheda.

Without the construction of this integral part of the plan, the plan is unsustainable. The northern cross route is vital infrastructure.

I understand that a decision on funding from the local infrastructure housing activation fund, LIHAF, is due in the next few weeks. We have been waiting for 15 years, numerous applications have been made and people have grown annoyed. The houses' construction has been ongoing for years but the infrastructure is not there. The Government has responsibility for providing funding for vital pieces of infrastructure so that towns of Drogheda's size have the potential to prosper. That is called sustainable planning, which is what we hear Government representatives talking about day in, day out. Will the Government commit to providing money for the port access northern cross route in this round of funding?

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