Terry Brennan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

With my colleague, Senator Mary Moran, I welcome the decision made yesterday by An Bord Pleanála to grant planning permission for construction of the Narrow Water bridge in north County Louth which will connect Omeath and County Louth with Warrenpoint, County Down. The Minister, Alex Attwood, MLA, announced last Friday that planning permission had been granted on the Northern side. It is a significant partnership project between Louth County Council and Newry and Mourne District Council. Those involved in the eastern Border region have also played a significant part. It is a project I have been promoting for almost 30 years with many of my councillor colleagues, including Councillor Peter Savage, Councillor Jim McCart in the North, among others, some of whom have gone to their eternal reward. Louth County Council, with its key partners in Newry and Mourne District Council, is anxious to build this bridge. It will be a major tourism project for Newry and its hinterland, Cooley, Carlingford and the north Louth region, in particular, all of which will gain significantly from it. It is within yards of where the British Army sustained its greatest loss of life in a single incident during the Troubles in Northern Ireland when 18 soldiers were killed, with one civilian on the Southern side. The bridge, when complete, will be a true symbol of lasting peace between all communities. The project will be welcomed by all communities on both sides of the Border.