Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome members of the A5 Enough is Enough group to the Public Gallery. I commend them on their campaigning for the long overdue upgrade to the A5. I also pay my respects to the many families who have been bereaved as a result of accidents on this treacherous road. I commend all the speakers who outlined this issue in the audiovisual room earlier today. I mention especially Kate Corrigan who spoke so eloquently and shared with us the heart-wrenching account of the loss of her son Nathan, who died as a result of a road traffic accident on the A5. So many families have experienced the same thing. No one else should have to go through what Kate and others have experienced. Everything must be done to ensure the issue of this death trap is addressed.

We heard earlier that a serious accident takes place on the A5 every four days, on average. This cannot be allowed to continue. The Government must honour its original commitments to fund 50% of the cost of the A5 upgrade and take all the necessary steps to ensure the N2, the Clontibret to the Border road scheme and the Castleblayney to Ardee road scheme are also funded and delivered as speedily as possible.

The A5 upgrade was first announced in 2007 in order to transform a dangerous single-lane road into a much safer dual carriageway. It remains an unsafe road, 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.

The Government originally committed to funding 50% of this project, a critically important piece of infrastructure, but it withdrew this commitment in 2011. The national development plan indicates a current commitment of €75 million, which is well below the original €400 million, representing 50% of the original cost at €800 million, let alone the current estimated overall cost which is €1.6 billion. The N2, Clontibret to the Border, road scheme is a vital artery through the central Border region to the north west. It was originally commenced in 2008 but suspended in 2012. It is an important link to the A5 and has been identified as necessary for road safety. It was restarted in 2018 and a new preferred route corridor was published in early 2021. The project then entered its phase 3 design and environmental evaluation, but no funding was received in 2022 and this project was suspended once again.

The Castleblayney to Ardee section of the N2 road scheme received funding of €600,000 in 2023, but this has proven insufficient to allow design work to continue and consultant engineers had to be asked to stop work on this project. It is a fact that the continued delays to these schemes are costing lives. A commitment must be given that no more lives will be lost by further delays.

These projects are also extremely important for the social and economic development of the north west and the Border corridor region. The national development plan recognises the A5 as one of the "strategic investment priorities for a more connected island" and identifies the need for both sections of the N2 road scheme as key to supporting the development of the Border region.

The Northern and Western Regional Assembly also include these projects as a policy objective to support the growth ambitions for the region in the regional spatial and economic strategy. If an extended delay is experienced, the cost of these schemes will increase and surveys, investigation and design work will need to be repeated at further additional cost.

Further delays to the commencement of these projects will cost more lives and have a negative effect on the social and economic development of this region. These projects must be advanced and completed as quickly as possible to enhance road safety, save lives and to help develop the social and economic well-being of the north west and the Border region.

Since 2006, more than 50 lives have been lost on the A5. Ten deaths occurred between October 2021 and October 2022 alone. We cannot wait any longer. We must act to save lives and protect families from further heartbreak. The Government must honour its original commitment to fund 50% of the cost of the A5 upgrade and take all the necessary steps to ensure that the N2, both the Clontibret to the Border scheme, and the Castleblayney to Ardee road scheme, are funded and delivered as speedily as possible. There cannot be any more delays or any more lives lost.

I am glad that the Government has indicated that it will not oppose the motion, but more importantly, the Government needs to step up to the mark and put in place the funding required to deliver on these vitally important infrastructure projects.

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