Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

It is helpful to go back to some of the initial comments. Senator Sheahan spoke about access in terms of the completion of the national road network. There are certain related areas, including, I must admit, County Wexford. The EU route 1, with which some of us who have been around for a certain period are familiar, was originally intended to connect Larne in the North through the port of Rosslare, to the Continent and, ultimately, to Moscow. That sounds a tad Skibbereen Eagle-like, to say we were on the road to Moscow. I would settle for Larne to Rosslare. Unfortunately, that road, while largely built, is not completed. We need the missing component part in Wicklow, the Enniscorthy by-pass and the last leg into the port of Rosslare to be finished. This will not be done within the timeframe of this programme. In all truth, it is unlikely it will be completed in its entirety in the timeframe of the next programme. That is something we need to work on.

I am conscious of such areas, and others in County Kerry and one concerning which a vociferous argument was made in the other House, namely, the A5 in the North. The latter is an important project. I suppose it was a bit unusual for the previous Government to commit our funds to build a road that was largely to be constructed in Northern Ireland. There is a commitment to the people of the north west as well. The Derry-Donegal axis is an important one for the all-Ireland economy. At a time when we are not proceeding with road projects in general, we unfortunately do not have the £400 million we committed to give.

I have given a political commitment, which has been publicly reiterated by the Taoiseach, to the project. I have met my Northern counterpart, Sammy Wilson, on a number of occasions, most recently yesterday at the North-South Ministerial Council in Armagh. I had another bilateral meeting with him last Friday as part of the general North-South Ministerial Council. I met him in Dublin before I made the announcement so that he would be clear on its implications. We will explore how the road might be completed. I am glad to have had an opportunity to mention this matter. It is important for the people of Donegal and the north west in general to know we have not abandoned the project. We have given an indicative figure. We will put £25 million into the budget line in 2015 and 2016. We will work on how we can assist in doing that.

Senator Sheahan also spoke about the cost of job creation. I gave the indicative figures. IDA Ireland has told me that each job costs €14,000 to create. The important issue of procurement was also raised by the Senator. My colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, has done a great deal of work on this as part of the other work we are doing. I suggest that it might be worth the time of the Seanad, if has an opportunity to do so, to invite the Minister of State to go through the various layers of general procurement policy. The House could discuss how best practice operates and how we can comply with the European tendering regime while ensuring, as far as practicable, that-----