Matt Carthy (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Dáil Éireann: is gravely concerned that:

— the A5 road remains unsafe, with an increasing number of fatalities in recent years;

— people, young and old, continue to lose their lives on this route, leaving devastated families and communities behind; and

— more than 50 people have died since 2006, with ten deaths occurring between October 2021 and October 2022 alone;

notes that: — the A5 route is important infrastructure linking the North and South, and it is a major route for those living and working in the border counties and across the North West;

— this route is critical to the economic wellbeing of one of the poorest regions on the island;

— the A5 upgrade was first announced in 2007, in order to transform a dangerous single lane road into a much safer dual carriageway; and

— the N2 Ardee to Castleblayney Road Scheme and the N2 Clontibret to Border Road Scheme, along with the TEN-T Priority Route Improvement Project for Donegal, are critically important linkages to the A5 and have been identified as necessary for road safety; recognises that further delays to the commencement of the project will cost lives and have a negative effect on the economic development of the North West; and

calls on the Government to: — honour the commitment to fund 50 per cent of the cost of the A5 upgrade, so that it is commenced and completed as quickly as possible, saving lives and enhancing the social and economic wellbeing of the North West region; and

— take all necessary steps to ensure that the TEN-T Priority Route Improvement Project for Donegal, connecting to the A5 and related N2 upgrades, receive approval and are delivered as speedily as possible.

When we bring a motion before this House, we do so because it is important - important to us and important to the people we represent. We bring motions to raise awareness, to demand action or to tell an important story. As elected representatives, we know that it takes a certain amount of ego to do this job we always feel we are personally best placed to tell a story. Tonight, however, I readily admit that I am not best placed to tell this particular story, and nor is any Member of this House. If the rules of the Oireachtas allowed it, I think we would all be happy to cede our time in this debate to Kate Corrigan, who was in Leinster House today and joins us in the Public Gallery. Anyone who was in the audiovisual room today at a hearing organised by my colleague Deputy Doherty would not need to hear a single word other than those uttered by Kate to be convinced of the merits of the motion before us. They would be as determined as any member of the Enough is Enough campaign group to ensure there are no further delays in upgrading what is Ireland's most dangerous road, namely, the A5, and that the outstanding schemes on the linking N2 are advanced without delay.

Kate Corrigan gave us the human reality behind the statistics we will hear tonight. Kate’s son Nathan, along with Peter Finnegan and Peter McNamee, were killed on St. Stephen's Day, or Boxing Day as it is known in Tyrone, in 2021 when they were involved in a crash on the A5, just a short distance from the Corrigan home. The three men left behind devastated families. Kate spoke of the gap that Nathan's loss has created. This is a gap that will never be filled, except with sadness and heartache. They were just three of the 50 people who have died on the A5 since 2005. Of those deaths, ten occurred between October 2021 and October 2022. The trajectory is clear; the fatalities will continue unless this road is upgraded. From a road safety perspective alone there is no need for debate; the A5 must be upgraded. From an economic perspective, it is no accident that it is the communities along the entire route of the N2 and A5 that suffer from the highest levels of unemployment, emigration and deprivation and the lowest levels of public and private investment. Of course, all of that is not down to a single road but the A5 and the lack of action on it are certainly symptomatic of the problem.

We could discuss the reasons for the current situation. We could discuss the historic legacy of partition. We could discuss the fact that Governments in Dublin, London and Stormont had one thing in common, namely, systemic underinvestment in the Border region, the north west in particular. We could discuss the archaic planning system in the North that has allowed a tiny number of objectors to delay and frustrate progress that is clearly in the common good. We could discuss the historical and current underfunding by British Governments of infrastructure projects in the North. This underinvestment has ironically been exacerbated in the time since the Good Friday Agreement.

What we can do in this House, though, is take action to direct the Government to act upon previous commitments. I welcome the Government's indication that it will support this motion. This is an important first step but it must be followed by Government action. In the first instance, the Government's action must be a categorical statement that it will ensure that the 50% commitment regarding funding for this project will be adhered to. This must be about more than just saying the right thing. It has to be about doing the right thing. Rhetoric regarding the A5 will only count for something if it is also matched by action in respect of the N2 road linkage.

The regions that are not served and cannot be served in the short term by public transport need investment in our road networks to ensure that we can save lives and that never again will someone like Kate Corrigan have to come and bare their soul before the Members of this House. Let us make sure that in this instance it was not in vain. I appeal to the Government, the Minister of State in particular, to support this motion and, more important, to act upon it.

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